My Light
by CharmyPI-5 the VIII
Summary: After a horrific Accident Shadow adopts a young girl, but can Shadow handle fatherhood? And how it will affect his life?  chapter 17, how will Shadow react when his feelings for Claire are challenged?
1. Sari

I've had thsi story inmy head for quite a while now, hope you enjoy

Chapter 1

He could still remember the day…not the day that Maria died….this was a way that would bring him "back to life."

How ironic that it would end in flames.

Shadow held the small child tightly , struggling to keep her from running towards the man currently , and futile, fighting against the flames now threatening to consume their village. He turned to look Shadow dead in the eye," take her and go NOW!'

"Don't be stupid, I can help."

"Then who'll get my sister away from here? You have a better chance of getting out of here alive then I do!" he threw a falling log away from him and stormed over, grabbing Shadow by the front (a act that would normally get the grabber killed )," You told me once that you owe me your life, well change perspective and protect my sister!"

Solemnly shadow nodded and the boy dropped his front, but the tiny girl grabbed his hand," Remy, Remy please don't! I can't loose you to!" she sobbed helplessly. Remus smiled gently and took her away from Shadow for a moment," It'll be alright my Light, I promise…Shadow will protect you from now on…and I'll be watching over you always."

"NO…no…."

"But you have to be brave My Light…brave for me….can you do that?"

Shadow was shocked to see the little girl put on a stern face, trying to force her tears back," I-I will."

Remus smiled gently, giving the girl a kiss on the forehead before handing her over to Shadow once again," Protect her….as though she were your own…" then he turned and ran into the dying village. And Shadow did as he was told, like a good GUN agent and ran in the opposite direction. He could feel the little girls hand clinging to his chest, and couldn't' help but commend her on her bravery…he stopped on a hill a few miles from the village, watching it burn up in flames, the girls head to his chest so she couldn't see it and fall into despair again, he remembered Remus's bravery, "I will….." then disappeared into the night.

Within a few minutes they were back in GUN base, a group of medics were awaiting them, they took the girl from him and rushed her into the Medic room to check for fire injuries. They didn't' bother to check on Shadow because he would just reject it (and probably throw something across the room). So he sat outside the medical room, elbows on his knees and hands to his forehead; things catching up with him. Remus, one of the few friends he had made on GUN was dead….the commanders village destroyed….and he just took in a orphan girl. Sighing he rested his head against the wall behind the chair, maybe it wasn't' too late, GUN would take good care of her (as it did with all of their orphans) and she would find good home…

"That's not what you promised though…" he reminded himself verbally but could he do this? He knew nothing about children…..and now he was expected to take in and probably raise one?

He heard the door open beside him and opened a lazy eye, "what?"

'The girl is doing ok if you want to see her…"

"Any injuries?"

"Just some smoke in the lungs, but they cleared it out and gave her asthma medicine."

"Inhaler?" great, now the girl was sickly, this was great., but he walked past her into the room. The only bed that was occupied was the one that occupied the tiny girl. The small hedgehog girl looked no older then 6 (though she was much smaller then that), her black fur was streaked with blue, which also covered her normal hair, her sad tear-streaked eyes. There was a deliberator attached to her mouth but she didn't' seem really notice it, but she did see him coming. Shadow sat by her, not sure what to say, what could he say? ,"How you feeling?"

"I'm feeling ok Mr. Shadow…the mask isn't bothering me, I have to do this at home too….."

Great. Shadow sighed, what to do,

The little girl looked up at him" You don't remember my name do you? Its Sari."

"Sari, its um….. acute name." what the hell?

The girl paused for a moment fiddling with the sheets ,"What's going to happen to me Mr. Shadow?"

He couldn't lie," I don't know kid…."

"I know you promised Remy that you would take me in…..but you don't have to….its not fair to you…"

Shadow flinched slightly, so she knew he was thinking of putting her up for adoption, but she ok with that? She was certainly a realist… but he had seen the real world and orphans who try on their own, they get in bad situations that they couldn't get out of…..he put his hand on the little girls unconsciously, what to do…

A nurse came in, different from the one from before, "Hello Shadow? I'm sorry but you can't be in here, its family and friends only."

Shadow looked at the girl one last time before looking at the nurse," I'm the child's guardian."

While the nurses eyes widen with shock, Sari threw her arms around his neck, hugging tightly, "Thank you…"

"don't mention it."

What had he done?

hope you enjoyed, and please give me reviews! adn suggestions!


	2. Welcome to the Family

Chapter 2

Well, he had just adopted a young girl, the little sister of his now deceased Captain. What the hell?

Shadow had been living with the young girl inside his tiny one room apartment that was on GUN facilities, but it wasn't' exactly a safe environment for a young child (almost everyday he had to pull her from out from under a car). Sighing he sat at the front gate (seeing as without him there it would take Sari hours to get through clearance ) the yellow school bus pulled up and doors opening. Sari jumped out, weighed down from numerous objects that indicated her last day of school, her tired eyes brightening up at the sight of her guardian," Mr. Shadow!" she smile running over

Shadow, tired face broke into a smile," welcome home Sari." he reached down and took some of her bags "Here its almost time for your breathing treatments." he reached down for her hand which she took eagerly, "did you have a good day?"

"Not really, the teachers are still acting weird around me, I think its because of Remy…" her eyes lowered at the thought of her deceased brother," But we got cake!"

"That's good. " Shadow lead her to the medical ward ,"Aright, I'll be back in a few hours to pick you up ok?"

The little girl nodded, hugged him and walked in to the waiting nurses. Shadow sighed sadly, he used to think living here was a good thing, especially with all the protection, but it wasn't healthy for a young girl with asthma to be surrounded by so many fumes and weapons. He walked and dropped off the girls stuff in his apartment. He thought of moving off the grounds but even then he didn't' know what house to get ,what size or even location. Shadow had never bought anything in his life (everything had always been provided) not that he didn't have money ( since he never spent it he had plenty).

"Agent Shadow, a word.."

Turning around , Shadow saw commander Tower approaching , his multicolored eyes serious, "Yes Commander?"

"Its been 3 weeks since you adopted Sarime, correct?"

"Yes Sir.'

"And she's been living with you, correct, soldier?"

"Yes Sir. "

He reached behind him and pulled out a sheet, "This a result from Saris' last breathing test…"

Shadow sighed, he knew this would happen , without even looking at it, he asked,'" Its happening isn't it? Its getting worse."

"Yes, Shadow either you put the girl up for adoption or move out. "

"I'm trying to find a house Sir, I just can't get one…"

Commander Tower sighed, and reached not his bag again, "Here , I had my men find a house not to far from Base, "

Shadow hesitated then took the paper, looking it over, the house had everything he needed," Why though?" he looked up at Commander Tower, "Why go through all this?" 'or rather, why have your men do this for me?' he thought to himself

"Simple, its not going to do you any good to be worrying all day while you're on missions, on whether Sarime is getting sick. You also have the summer off."

"Why?" this was getting weird, appreciated, but weird

"You haven't had any vacation time since you joined GUN, and you now have a little girl to take care of, I'm hoping this helps you grow. You have a long journey ahead of you, I hope for your best." then walked away

Shadow watched him go, "Thanks…..Commander.' then walked down the hallway to fill out the paper work.

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4 weeks later

Shadow stood outside the house he had bought weeks ago and couldn't help but approve of the commanders choice. It was close to town (not so close as to worry about traffic hitting anyone) it was located close to a few sparse trees (not a forest) a small pond by the 2 story house.

There weren't' a lot of rooms, a combo kitchen/ dining room, a living room, 2 bathrooms 1 hallway closet, 2 bed rooms and one office. It was perfect for a agent and his adopted child.

He saw Sari run out of the house, dodging Moving people and running right to him, her arms hugging his stomach ,"Mr. Shadow don't you want to come inside?"

"Maybe later Sari, why don't you go make sure that no one breaks our house?"

"Yes sir!" she ran towards the house, leaving Shadow to chuckle slightly she was a good kid. Hearing footsteps he turned around, the people who referred to him as their 'friend' ( aka Chatoix, Sonic, and other such annoying people) they were all carrying such item like food bowls and wrapped items (which was weird)

Shadow growled uneasily, not that he hated them that much, but he had never told them about Sari yet, because he knew they would make a big deal about it. So he had to get them out quickly. He walked up to them ,"what the hell are you doing here?"

Sonic smiled, "Nice to see you too Shadow, we're here for you house warming party."

"House warming party? My house is self warming so I don't need you all to-"

"It means we're here to welcome to your new home!"

"Ok ok fine, drop the items and go-"

"Wow you really don't understand he concept of party do you?" Sonic laughed with the others, walking past Shadow they started setting up tables while talking. Shadow growled again,' Dang it."

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Sari waved off the movers, everything was in place and the house was starting to look like a home. It seemed like things were going better. She was so happy for having Shadow, he had given up a lot for her and she would never forget that. She walked up the tall window ad looked out on her tiptoes.

The yard was full of animals of all kinds and colors ,none of whom she recognized ,"Shadow?" She looked confused, 'where was the man who had adopted her?

"Why hello there!"

Sari turned around by her was a tall green crocodile, his sharp teeth protruding from the sides of his mouth, looming over her like a huge monster, "Hey kid! What are you doing in Shadows-"

Sari, who had been shocked beyond words started screaming at the top of her lungs in horror.

Outside everyone turned and looked at the house at the sound of the screaming, "who-"

Shadow instantly reacted , jumping over the mob of friends ands running into house, back handing Vector out of the way and kneeling in front of the child, "Sari! Sari what's-"

Sari quickly threw her small arms around his neck sobbing, "Sha-Shadow there-there was a monster." she burred her face into his shoulder, "a ugly bad smelling monster."

He rubbed her back gently lifting her into his arms, "Its ok, he's not a monster, but he is bad smelling-."

"Shadow?"

Suddenly remembering the grouped of people who ad intruded upon his house were standing in the living room, all their faces full of shock (even 7 year old Mighty looked shocked) staring at the Ultimate Weapon who was holding the sobbing girl. Sonic spoke again, "Who….the…hell…"

Shadow sighed, now was better then never he stood up slowly, carrying the small child over to the others, he sighed ,"Guys…this is Sari, the little girl I adopted."

There was a awkward silence then Sonic (expert Ice-breaker) walked over ,"Hey kiddo! Nice to meet you sweety, I'm Sonic, what's your name?"

Sari whimpered clung to Shadow shaking even more, Shadow sighed, hand on the back of her head," Sorry Sari's not used to meeting new people, she grew up in a village entirely of Hedgehogs. But Vector scared her pretty bad."

"Aw…." Sonic looked disappointed, then his eyes lit up running over to the Chaotix group grabbed Mightys' hand and ran back over, "Hey Sari! Have you met Mighty? He's a kid your age and he's' really nice."

Slowly Sari looked back around down on the armadillo with the kind face," Hi."

Mighty smiled ,"Hi! "

Sari smiled back, Shadow felt comfortable enough, setting Sari down ruffling her hair ,"Go and talk to him ok?"

Sari nodded, and shyly walked after Mighty who was talking about introducing her to his friends,(aka Chaotix)

Shadow smiled, sighing maybe things wouldn't be so bad.

After a few hours the party started to die down and soon everyone was sitting in chairs enjoying the food (the food originally brought for Shadow). While Shadow didn't talk to much , it didn't take much for Sari to warm up to everyone. And was full of smiles , running with Mighty as he introduced her to everyone he knew there. Shadow was kept an eye on them but mostly (vaguely ) listened to what everyone else was saying while drinking cup of coffee.

"Hey Shadow!'

Sighing , he looked at Sonic who had that stupid smile on his face ,"What, Blue Hedgehog?"

"Nothing important, guess I' still shocked that you took in a child, I mean why did you do it?"

Shadow blinked then looked over at Sari, who was currently shaking Vectors hand (after making sure he wasn't carnivorous), "I don't know, she didn't' have anyone else and I suppose I know the feeling…"

"Aw that's cute!"

"Shut up Blue Hedgehog."

"Just a joke Faker, so what are you going to do about school?"

"School?"

"yeah, its required for people under the age of 18."

"Oh please I've seen plenty of kids not go to school all over the place.'

"That's because its summer, everyone goes back in the Fall, so what will you do?"

"Well," he hadn't thought of that," maybe she can be home schooled?"

"By who? You?'

" Are you indicating I'm not smart Blue Hedgehog?"

"No not at all ,a little, but you have a job, so unless you plan on quitting GUN she's' going to need to go to school."

Shadow growled lowly," But her school is 4 hours away, I don't like the thought of her having 4 hours bus rides and not being around people in her own town,."

"Transfer."

"that doesn't seem fair."

"fair? didn't' know that was in your vocabulary."

"Hedgehog."

"ok ok!" walks over to the table, "Ok we have a lot of talking ot go through if you want ot keep from messing up Sari."

Shadow growled again slightly, wanting to tear out his throat, Espio (in all of his ninja glory) must of sensed Shadows raising stress level (along with his murder level) and walked over, "Here, walk with me."

With a a final glare at Sonic and followed Espio, "Yes?"

"I thought you needed a escape from Sonic, he gels overly excited.'

"thanks for pointing out the obvious." he sighed, but Sonic had a lot of good point, he didn't know anything about having a daughter… let alone raising one. He closed his eyes sighing heavily, he didn't want to mess her up.

"You'll be fine."

Shadow looked over at Espio who had his normal serious look in his eyes but had a bit more sympathy, "You're not going to mess her up."

"Oh really?" he scoffed, "How do you know that?"

"Because when Vector scared Sari, you didn't hesitate to run in to see if she was ok…."

"yeah, that was stupid."

"No that was being a father."

Shadow stopped walking for a moment, the thought hitting him, he didn't think what he had done was fatherly…it was mostly natural instincts….is that what being a father was?

"You're no the only one dealing with new situations, we have Mighty."

"you didn't adopt him though."

"That doesn't mean the Chaotix isn't in charge of making sure he becomes a young man with values, and seeing as I can't rely on Vector or Charmy for help on that, Knuckles has to take care of the Master Emerald so its left up to me." he turned to look at Shadow, "But since we've had Mighty for a longer time I can impart some advice that I had to learn."

"That'll be helpful." he rolled his eyes , but secretly thinking, 'thank goodness!'

"Alright, first thing, something you didn't know: Even though Cake has much of the ingredients that would make a nutritional meal, it is horrible for you and wont make you healthy."

"Duh, seesh I'm' not a idiot." while kicking himself mentally 'Dang it, I should probably stop making her eat cake for dinner.'

"And also , since you have a little girl, never pass up the opportunities ot give hugs.'

"why?"

"Girls appreciate hugs."

"Have you been assigned to spying on sororities or something?"

"No…" he paused awkwardly, "only for a few weeks."

The advice kept on for a few hours , a few things Shadow secretly took note of (which he would privately text onto his I-phone) and he couldn't' help but commend Espio on his knowledge of children (then again he did grow up with Charmy). After a while though, their friends started leaving and Espio did the same, giving a lazy wave before leading Mighty away with the others.

Shadow waved them off, then spotted Sari doing the same with Mighty which made him smile, it was nice to see her making friends. His mind drifted back to what Espio had said _"that was being a father." _then saw Sari stumbling over and he chuckled, "Tire yourself out kid?"

Sari rubbed her eyes, struggling to smother her yawn, "n…no.."

"Ok then, you can't ride on my shoulders then." he turned and pretended to start walking back to the house when a hand caught his , he looked own

"Ok,…..I'm tired…..can I please ride on your shoulders?"

"Of course kid.." he picked her up and sat her on his shoulders so she could see all over, instantly she laid her head on top of his head snoring slightly.

Shadow chuckled softly and took her inside. Maybe things wouldn't' be so bad….

I hope you enjoyed this, if you have any suggestions you can tell me.: ) enjoy adn review hopefully


	3. Chaos Curse

Chapter 3

Shadow ducked behind a abandoned car his body covered in his standard military armor, with pockets line with necessities such as hand grenades, extra ammo and compass. His helmet buzzing in orders from the others on his team. Holding up his gun he lined his scope with the enemy just below him , a Eggman robot who had no idea his days were numbered .The signal came through the helmet to hold their position and to get comfy. To the sides he could see the others ,shift into sitting positions, the firs man taking watch.

Sighing Quietly he did the same ,resting the gun across his lap and taking a sip from his canteen, something green caught his sight on the canteen and he turned it over, seeing that Sari (who had gotten a pack of 'make your own stickers' kit from Sonic) had stuck a green bunny head to the canteen with a gold star next to it (Sari always thought stars and bunnies were lucky) and he smiled gently. He felt a little guilty, you see there was a time (right now) when Summer and Shadow's job over lapped (his vacation ran out). He didn't want Sari to be alone so Espio offered for her to spend her days (while Shadow was at work) at the Chaotix house to spend time with Mighty. And Shadow would pick her up on the way home. Sure Sari was safe and happy but he felt a little sad for he wanted to see his daughter. It was the first time he had been away from her, a thing Sonic referred to as "Daddy Withdrawal" ( a phrase that earned him a punch to the gut). But Shadow knew Sari understood his work, and she was ok with it.

"Team Alpha, move forward." came the command.

Shadow stood up slowly ,time to get back to work.

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Espio listened carefully to the footsteps running through the house, the indication of happy children at play. Smiling he returned to doing his most despicable job.

Bills.

Sighing, he closed his eyes, how did he get stuck with this again? OH right, Charmy was too young to understand math, and Vector was the leader.

The footsteps ran up the stairs and Espio went back to work, reading off the lists, "Dang, why is the energy bill so high, stupid video games-"

Suddenly a scream filled the house followed by a crashing sound as something fell down the flight of stairs. Espio stood up, his heart stopping, "HEY!" he called, running in their direction," Sari! Mighty! What happened-" then he saw the body at the foot of the stairs and froze," no….."

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"Mission accomplished Team Alpha. You can head back to base"

Shadow smirked his old smirk in a little self pride, the base had been over run by GUN soldiers and now being investigated for indications of Eggman's plan. He kicked over a disembodied robot slightly giving a cold laugh, "Too bad you were created by the loosing team." before following the other soldiers in his unit to the helicopter.

Another message buzzed in, this was the voice of Abraham, "Agent Shadow, a message came in for you."

"From who?"

"Espio the chameleon, its about Sarime."

Shadow stopped walking, "What happened?"

"There was a accident, Sari's somewhere called the Haven for medical attention, you are relieved of duty as of right now-"

Shadow grabbed the Chaos Emerald that dangled at his side, and teleporting quickly to the entrance of the Haven, headquarters for living Guardians, (AKA Knuckles ancestors and Grandfathers). If Sari was taken here then it was more serious then he thoughr. "Sari." he ran inside, not caring about formalities he ran past the elderly echidna's ,having been there before for medical attention so he knew where everything was. Sliding through the hall his heart hammered in his throat ,"Please let her be ok Please le her be ok." he prayed, then the door with the red cross came into view and he knocked the doors open, "Sari!"

"hi Shadow!"

He slid to a stop, Sari was sitting on a medical bed, sucking on , what he supposed was a sucker, Espio was standing by her and a red echidna (whom he recognized before as Locke, Knuckles father). Mighty was sitting on a chair but they were all looking at him as though he was crazy.

"Mr. Shadow?"

Shadow , trying to ignore his own confusion, ran over rand shoved Espio aside, "Sari! Are you ok? Are you hurt?" he quickly looked over her arms for any blemishes before gently taking her head in his heads and looking over her head too.

"I'm fine, Espio said this was a field trip! Why are you wearing that?" referring to his military uniform

"You're not hurt?" he took off his helmet and set it to the side, while relief was settling over him quite nicely another darker feeling started set tingly over him as he slowly looked up at Espio, the anger threatening to come over him," She's. Not. Hurt?" he asked slowly again, trying to get the facts straight

But Locke answered for him,' we didn't find any damages on her, or on any of the tests we took on her."

"Really….. " he gently took Saris' hands into his own," Hey Sari why don't you and Mighty go play around Haven for a little bit? _I need to have a word with Espio._" struggling to keep from flying off the handles, He gently set his helmet on her head, "You can even play with my helmet."

Sari smiled brightly," thanks!" and leapt down and running off.

Shadow listened carefully to their retreating footsteps soon as they disappeared completely.

"Shadow I-" started the chameleon

His fists shot out, catching Espio in the face sending him flying into the computers that aligned the wall before jumping on him, hand on his throat as Chaos Energy ran down his body (despite the inhibitor rings )," WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT? SARI'S FINE?" a hand grabbed his arms from behind, probably Locke, and tried to pull him off but Shadows only intent was to make Espio PAY for scaring him to death. ,"YOU TOLD GUN THAT SHE WAS HURT-"

Espio's hands grabbed Shadows own as he tried to pry them off but was ineffective and struggled to speak, "Sari fell down a flight of stairs-"

"BULLET!" (cussing)

"She WAS, but there wasn't any injuries-"

"SO WHY THE HELL BRING HER HERE AND INCUR MY WRATH!"

"There wasn't' even a blemish, any other child and they're would have been blood but there were no injuries.' said Locke , still struggling futilely to free Espio under his wrath.

Shadow paused then released Espio's throat, who fell on his knees, coughing uncontrollably while Locke knelt by him and rubbing his back. After a few seconds the two stood up, Locke looking back on Shadow , deciding that he would explain. "Espio didn't know how to make of it so he called the Brotherhood, I suggested he bring her in to make sure there weren't any internal injuries."

"And?" Shadow crossed his arms

"Inside and out she was fine."

"So what's' the problem-'

"She SHOULDN'T be fine, she should be bleeding and having a concussion, then I remembered how Knuckles told me how you came to save her from a burning village."

"Yeah-"

"Why wasn't she hurt? A entire burning village and no so much of a burn."

"She has asthma-"

"A pre-existing condition." he walked over to the computer and pressing a few keys, "SO we ran a few tests on her body… coming to a conclusion."

"Which is?"

"First let me explain Chaos Emeralds, we know how they work, they give energy but are useless on their own, but powerful with the others. When they're alone they have energy yes, energy which is used on certain situations, such as powering up machines or taking energy. And if threatened they have energy that defends them and protects them from damage 56% of the time."

"And.." Shadow didn't like where this was going.'

"To put it bluntly, you're daughter is a living Chaos Emerald."

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"Sari! Sari! wait up!" called Mighty

The girl stopped for a moment, the oversized helmet swirling around her head like a bobble head, 'Yeah?"

"I think we need to go back."

"Why?"

"I think we're lost.'

"Oh.' Sari looked around, and immediately found his statement to be true, then looked back on Mighty," do you think that there's a phone around here somewhere? They have one on street corners for people who need help."

"I haven't seen any, in fact I haven't seen any rooms-"

Sari's ears twitched as she heard footsteps bouncing off the walls, "Hear that!'

"People!"

"Maybe if we find them we can find they can take us back to Mr. Espio and Mr. Shadow!"

"Good idea1!" quickly holding hands and ran after the sound, Saris' sensitive ears guiding them quickly in the right direction, and it wasn't long till a tall echidna with a black cloak and a medieval helmet walking to the hallway opposite them, obviously not seeing them.

'"There he is Mighty! Lets go-" she tried to run forward but Mightys' hand gripped hers tightly with both hands, refusing to let her move forward," "WAIT SARI! don't!"

"Why? He can help!"

"No Listen!' Mighty drug her behind the wall before the Echidna could look in there direction, slightly irritated Sari put her hands on her hips, glaring at him from the visor of Shadow's helmet," What's wrong? We found a adult!'

"That's Guardian Spectre! He's the scariest Guardian alive!"

"OH please-'

"I'm serious! Charmy says that he's one of the most powerful! That even the Dark Legion is afraid of him!'

"So he's' a good guy-"

"NO! Charmy says he's' the Boogeyman and Charmy said, if you ever come across him, to never EVER let him see you-"

A gruff voice spoke behind them," May I help you?"

Sari and Mighty gave a small scream before turning around , the dark figure of Spectre loomed over them, the his gold eyes glaring down on them like the Eyes of Saroun on the hobbits. He awaited for them to speak, "Well?"

Sari , despite Mightys' protest stood up and walked over, grabbing his hand and shaking it,'Hi Mr. Boogeyman! I'm Sarime and this is Mighty, Can you take us back to the Medical room pretty please? "

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Shadow glared at the two men hard"A chaos Emerald? How is that possible? There are only 7.'

"NO." Locke walked over to Shadow, crossing his arms and stared returned Shadow's glare, "There were originally 12 but some of them were absorbed by a rouge Echidna in a attempt to get power,"

"SO?"

"Apparently He absorbed 4, the 5th was lost and disappeared with time. Until a certain scientist got a hold of it."

"Robotnik"

"Yes." he closed his eyes, " I became suspicious when I looked up Saris' body energy and saw a large amount of Chaos Energy."

"Like me?"

"No, yours is directed into violence, Sarime's is more malleable, and it reminded me of a report my father had written on activities of Robotnik's fortress 6 years ago."

"what did it say?" Shadow started ot feel dreading, what did this mean….?

"He wrote that Robotnik's base was full of activity for 7 days, lights on all hours and extra robots on guard around them. He was seen talking with a white hedgehog with blue streaks."

"Blue…"why did that sound so familiar then it hit him,' "Remus?" the older brother of Sari? The very man who sacrificed his life to give Sari and Shadow time to escape?

"yes."

Shadow turned and saw Espio stand up, finally getting his airway opened fully ,"I did some investigation, and before Remus was Saris' brother and a soldier of GUN, he was a henchmen for Robotnik and helped him succeed in one of his greatest, and last achievements."

"Bringing life to a Chaos Emerald?"

"Correct, apparently this resulted in Sari's birth. But Remus and Robotnik had some disagreements and Remus ran away with the newborn on the 8th night. And resumed a new life in Chaos Isle, where raised Sari until his death."

"Hmm…..but that doesn't explain what happened to his arm."

"it was destroyed when he fled Robotnik."

Shadow, feeling light headed, walked over to a chair sitting down, thoughts shooting through his head, Remus…a Robotnik henchmen…the destruction of Chaos Isle….a plot to take Sari away…..but he couldn't' forget Remus's bravery, "Wait what does this mean for Sari?"

Locke walked over hand on Shadow's shoulder, feeling sympathetic," don't worry, there's no affect on Sari's health, its' not radioactivity or poisoning, if anything it will protect her from fatal serious injuries depending on her level."

"Level?"

"Yes, from what I can tell, depending on the damage, it varies on her , her emotion level."

Shadow buried his face in his hands sighing

"Don't worry, she'll be able to control it with time and your teaching-"

"That's not what I'm worried about." he snapped," Have you seen the bastages in this world who go after Chaos Emeralds? What if they find out Sari is one, they'd go after her and….." he lowered his gaze ,"What if she finds out the truth? She'll figure out that that's' why Eggman attacked the village….why they killed Remus…."

Locke sighed closing his eyes, free hand tugging on his white beard, " The answers to all those questions depends on you, Shadow, its up to you to prevent anyone from discovering Saris' secret, and whether you tell her is up to you, you can train her without her knowing about the Chaos Emerald, but that is something you have to come across. But that's part of being a father, telling your child the truth when they're ready, and not waiting till its too late."

"How will I know though. How will I know when its time!" Shadow demanded.

Before Locke could answer the Medical door slid open, and Spectre came in, holding the hands of Mighty and Sari, who were both beaming happily and munching on cookies. Which drew puzzled look from Locke, "Grandfather Spectre? What-"

"I found them lost in the halls, apparently they thought I was a boogeyman thanks to a certain bee, so I gave them some cookies and took them here."

Shadow closed his eyes again, unable to hide his stress, finding himself once again questioning his abilities to be a good father, how was he supposed to know the right moment to tell her that her 'brother' , not only lied about being her brother and family, but also about the very reason of her existence at the hand of a mad scientist?

"Daddy?"

He opened his eyes, who was daddy? Looking down he saw Sari standing at his knees, hey big gold eyes full of worry and a huge cookie in her hands, "Daddy are you ok? What's' wrong? Do you want my cookie?"

"No thank you." Daddy? Again, what….was that word? He had heard children say it before , but to who? Their…fathers….it made Shadow sorrow fade away and warmth filled his chest and a smile to his lips, "I'm fine Sari " ruffling her hair, "Do you want to go home?"

Sari nodded enthusiastically grabbing his hand. Shadow squeezed her hand gently back before teleporting away with her.

Locke looked over and sighed at Espio, "And to think, just a few minutes ago I was prying him off of your throat."

"Yeah, I guess fatherhood does that to a man."

I hope you enjoyed this, if you have any suggestions you can tell me.: ) enjoy adn review hopefully


	4. Claire

(just a short add on I thought would be fun)

Shadow's mission

Shadow opened the door of the microwave pulling out a kids Easy Mac Instant Lunch , since he had absolutely no cooking prowess he was entire dependent on these Microwavable meals to feed his daughter. But he wasn't quite sure of the nutritional value ,"Maybe I can get a book on this." he sighed but there was nothing he could do about it now. Opening the kitchen door to the overgrown jungle that was the yard, "While I'm at it I should buy a lawnmower." he added quietly, then called ,"Sari! Lunches' ready!" he watched tall grass then saw the top of her black and blue hair, ears barely over the grass, running around frantically trying to find him, he tried to tell her directions "Over here! Follow my voice! Go right-no the other right!"

Sari's head ran around the tall grass, "I'm trying!"

Shadow sighed leaping over the all grass to right behind Sari, picking her up out of the mess, the girl rubbing her itchy eyes, "Mr. Shadow I think we need to take care of the grass."

"I'll put it on my things to do." he looked at her smirking slightly, then sat her on his shoulders walking back towards the house. When he reached the door he heard a car door slam. Turing around, he saw a standard GUN military car pull up, Abraham stepping out looking at Shadow, his face serious.

Shadow nodded, setting Sari on her feet ,'Here go inside and eat your lunch ok?"

The girl looked from Shadow to Abraham uneasily, taking his hand but he gave her a comforting smile ,"Its alright I'll be right there."

Sari nodded walking into the house and Shadow put on a emotionless mask and turning to look at Abraham, who was walking in his direction, looking at the overgrown yard with a look of surprise, "You should get a gardener,"

"I've been told." he crossed his arms," What are you doing here? I'm on vacation, vacation YOU issued."

"I know, but something important came up and I need my best men."

Shadow sighed, this was the last thing he wanted to do, ,"Look, GUN protocol dictates that a Agent can deny a mission if they're on vacation-"

"This is important, Eggman's on the move again."

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Shadow stood in the GUN hangar, alongside the members of his new unit, clothed in standard military uniform: black pants, gray long sleeved shirt and a black military vest, standing at attention with his new unit, most of them echidna, which was common. But the one at the end stood a little taller then the others, and had the shape of a human, which peeked his interest a little, but when the commander started talking he became entirely focused on the speaker.

"This is a high priority stealth mission. The objective is to take out a rogue agent whose on his way to Eggman's base to give him vital GUN information stolen from our secret vaults."

"Sir, any information on what was stolen?" was the question from one of the echidnas, which one Shadow didn't know.

"No, the agent made copies but our agents are on it. Right now we need to assume what he stole was vital and our top priority is to take him out." he walked up to the screen that stood behind him, "The targets name is Thomas, Thomas Tower."

Shadow froze, Tower? As in the commanders son? No wonder he looked so grim, how would you feel having send men to kill your son?

"We have Intel that Eggman's henchmen is going to meet him 5 miles inside Eggman territory , so we need someone to come and intercept the man. Its going to be heavily guarded with support teams lining the way to the check point. That's why we have 5 teams." he pressed a button and a simulation of the forest appeared on the TV from a bird eyes' point of view. There were 5 red dots, "Team Alpha will take the North East Location, Team Beta Will take care of the South East, Team Psi with North West and Tau with the South West. You will destroy all the support teams there without alerting backup." he looked to Shadow ,"You will be apart of Epsilon, and support the sniper in the mountains, who will be the one taking out the rouge agent. You're in charge of your group." he looked to the team," Understood?" his multi colored eyes looking over the unit

"YES SIR!" came the collected response.

"Then report to your teams and load into the helicopters."

The units dispersed, Shadow picked up his duffle bag feeling curious to see who he was supporting on this mission, then he saw the human standing by his copter and walked on over, 'this is going to be interesting.' he thought to himself then he noticed the feminine shape of the human, "Really interesting"

The human smiled, as he could tell by the unobstructed part of the helmet kindly, holding out her hand out, "Please to meet you Captain Shadow, I'm Agent Vancouver but you can call me Claire."

"Pleasure." he shook it, climbing into the helicopter after her as it got ready to take off thinking 'I wonder, if she' human, and working among Mobians, does that mean that she has Genetic Disruption?"

To explain Genetic Disruption is when a human takes on the traits of a animal, caused by a sleeper gene that indicated a ancient ancestry that went back to the first Overlanders, They were supposed to be faster and stronger then normal humans with better reflexes that matched a true Mobians and a longer teenage appearance (which lasted from 20-30 years), which mean Shadow didn't have to worry about playing babysitter so much, but humans with this Disruption were outcasts among Overlanders and it was harder for them to make a living, but GUN took in anyone despite their past.

Which was lucky for Shadow. The moon shone in though the window for a sec which disrupted his thoughts, now would be Saris' bedtime, having left her with Espio, did she get enough to eat for dinner? She could be picky about her food. He rested his head back slightly against the wall of the helicopter as the guilt filled his chest, 'I shouldn't have even taken this mission,' he thought bitterly , but at the time (when Abraham went to get him) he had told him the only fact he needed to know about the mission That when the rouge agent broke into files, it was certain of one thing he had taken.

"Adoption records."

Shadows hands tightened around his gun, what did this mean? was Eggman willing to destroy every survivor of his massacre till every child was found…

"There's someone waiting at home for you, isn't' here?"

Shadow opened his eyes, Claire had taken off her helmet to reveal pure white hair that reached her elbows, with wolf ears (proof of her Genetic Disruption) she was quite young (no older then 17) and her eyes were covered with black thin sunglasses ( a strange attire to wear at night) but her smile was friendly, "You can always tell when a soldier has someone waiting for them at home by the look on their face before a mission, who are you fighting for?"

He paused, normally he didn't share accepts of his personal life with members of his unit but he sensed good energy coming from her, "My daughter."

"Oh right! There had been a rumor going around you adopted Remus's sister."

"Did you know him?"

"WE had lunch together a few times, he was a good man. Good soldier." her eyes dimmed over slightly, then put on another smile, "I actually had dinner at his house a few times, and met Sari, how's she doing?"

"See for yourself." he reached into his vest and pulled out a slightly wrinkled picture and held it out for her to see, ( the photo being of Sari and Mighty sitting at a piano trying to play a duet but smiling brightly). Claire smiled instantly ,"She looks happy. How's her eating habits now? Remus' used to complain how she could be picky."

"Well, she likes the Microwavable meals I've been giving her."

"That's all!"

"Yeah why?"

"Those things are bad for you, at least the children are. Don't you cook?"

"Never had to before." Shadow couldn't remember the last time he had a conversation this long with anyone, it was nice,

"Well I'll show you how to sometime ok?"

"Thanks." something about her still bugged him though, "Aren't you young to be in GUN?"

"The age level to join GUN is different from the other Overlanders, besides I had training at the GUN orphanage."

"Orphanage?" before he could inquire further the door to the cockpit opened and he turned his attention to it, "Yes Soldier?"

"Drop zone reached, get ready for landing."

Claire nodded, pulling back on her helmet and putting on a face of professionalism, standing up she swung her sniper rifle onto her back. Shadow did the same, running his hands over his equipment to make sure everything was there, 2 pistol, a couple rounds of ammo, a few grenades, a canteen, a small med-kit and a fake chaos emerald (for escape use only) dangling on his side. He tapped the side of his helmet to ensure the communication was working, and returned his picture into his vest and walked over to the door, leaning his head out to see the distance then looked back on Claire, "Do you need a chute-"

Without a word Claire leapt out, shocked Shadow did the same. The wind whistling by their ears until they landed with a thump. Shadow looked back on Claire and saw she was unhurt, "You could of warned me."

"Sorry." the 17 year old he had met on the copter was replaced by a professional appearance, "Lets get moving Captain Shadow."

A little confused at this change, he nodded holding his ak47 to his chest he began the march up through the dense forest, he heard Claire behind him , keeping up easy, but there was no more conversation. The hours went by and the air bothered Shadow, not the temperature, but the feeling he was getting from Claire, she was so tense, and almost forced. After a while, when they got closer to their checkpoint ,"You alright Soldier?" he called back.

"Yes sir." her voice said otherwise,

Shadow stopped walking, looking back on her, "Lets take a break, we're making good time and we'll be there soon."

"Begging your pardon sir, but wouldn't it be better to stop when we get there? It would give us extra time to assess our environment sir."

"Very well."

So they kept marching until the point came into view, marked out with a single red "g" on a tree by earlier scouts. Instantly Claire went to a out jutting rock and took out a small scope, laying flat on her stomach she looked over the area before coming back over, "The area's good for sniping. And is secure."

"Good." Shadow sat down against a rock, resting his gun across his lap," Its going to be a while Soldier so lets sit down for now."

"Yes Sir" Claire did as she was told, laying her sniper rifle across her lap she began to disassemble and reassemble it (no doubt a stress-reliever), a look of sadness and nervousness on her face.

"Is there a problem Soldier?"

"No Sir."

"Is this your first mission?"

"No Sir."

"Does it bother you that this is a GUN agent?"

When Shadow saw Claire's face twitched slightly he knew he had hit it, "You shouldn't let it bother you, he's a rouge agent, and deserves your bullet."

"Yes Sir." but her face remained unconvinced.

Shadow sighed, and the hours rolled by and the only sounds were his breathing and Claire's assembly of her sniper rifle. And Shadow began to relax, closing his eyes, 'only a few more minutes until the mission was done…' he reminded himself

There was a crack of a twig and , before Shadow could react, a egg-bot leapt out of the forest behind Claire and brought its fist across her face, her body flew across the plain before stopping at the rock. Shadow leapt at the robot and brought his gun to the robots head, completely destroying it before running over to where Claire laid, activating his helmet communicator with a touch of his hand, "Shadow to Command, a agent is down and needs medical-"

Suddenly her hand shot out and grabbed his hand, pulling it away from his helmet and disconnecting communication, her head was bowed and panting, red blood staining her hair," I'm fine….the mission continues…..no….no medics….."

"What the hell are you talking about Soldier! You were hit!" he grabbed her head and raised her head slightly but let go as shock shot through him.

The injury itself wasn't bad, a cut by the eye, but her sunglasses had been knocked off, revealing the true color of her eyes. One was blue and one was Gold.

Just like Commander Towers.

Shadow watched her sit up, and knelt in front of her his hand over her cut to suppress the bleeding, "The commanders your father isn't he?'

Unable to deny she nodded, not raising her head

"That means the rouge agent, the target, is your brother?" it took a few more minutes but then Claire gave him another nod, but this angered Shadow," And they expect you to kill him? What was command thinking-"

"They….they don't know he's my brother, or that Abraham's my father."

"How-"

"I'm his illegitimate daughter, after my brother was born he had a affair with a nurse while his wife was alive. But the nurse died giving birth to me, and when it was revealed I had Genetic Disruption it only powered his choice to give me up for adoption, he was young at the time and my birth would of only ruined his military career. SO he gave me to the GUN adoption agency, saying my parents had been killed in combat. Later on I found out who my family was and joined GUN…became the best sniper…" she looked out at the forest, "That's why I was chosen…" she squeezed her multi colored eyes shut, "I had no idea it would lead to this …"

Shadow , practically feeling the time coming closer, grabbed his mini-med-kit and forced her head back up attending her wound quickly ,"This isn't' right…" he muttered angrily

"I don't have a choice sir-"

"That's no excuse! Why do you have to suffer because the Commander couldn't' accept the responsibility of a illegitimate child, even with Disruption-"

"Sir you don't get it, Disruption is seen, by Overlanders, as having a weakness in the blood, therefore weakness of the heart. Its easy to see why he did why he did-"

"SO he gave you up because of a wives tale!"

Before Claire could respond her watch started to blink, indicating that the target was at the destination. Shadow reached for the rifle but Claire yanked it out of his hands, ramming into him to knock him over, and ran over to the spot, rifle up and scope lined.

Shadow slid back onto his feet , his old temper coming back, roared at her, "Soldier I ORDER you to stand down-"

Then a gunshot ran through the night, silence, then-

"Mission accomplished."

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Shadow threw his helmet into his locker, his hands shaking with rage and blood pounding in his head, "Stupid girl." he slammed the door shut. After the gunshot Shadow, too enraged to say a word, teleported them back to base and he left. Right now all Shadow wanted to do was get out of there and get home. Away from this horrible place and that horrible girl. "killing her own brother…." the phrase sent a bad taste in his mouth, "Probably enjoyed it." all humans were the same, selfish and only looking out for number one. Claire would get a award, Shadow would be praised for his leadership, Abraham would forget he ever had a son and life would go on. Storming down the hallway, duffle bag over his shoulder, he headed for the exit, but as he passed a locker room, the door slightly adjourned he heard a small sound echo from the room. SO quietly he almost missed it.

A girl crying.

Pausing, Shadow looked into the room slightly. Claire was sitting on the bench, her sniper rifle in shambles on the floor ,almost as though it had been torn apart in rage, the evidence of this being her bloody hands which now covered her face. A worn and slightly yellowed picture laid on her lap, and shadow could distinctively make out a boy with white hair and discolored eyes, a younger version of the man Claire had just killed; her brother.

Shadow's heart beat regulated slowly and the shaking of his hands ceased as everything became clear.

The loneliness that she suffered in the orphanage, the self loathing of her own existence after discovering how she came to be, the discrimination against her due to her blood. Seeing her father and brother for the first time but not being able to tell them who she was, but deciding to protect them from her existence by wearing sunglasses to hide the genetic proof, but unable to stay away from them. So she joined GUN just to be near them, GUN probably became her home where she was free from discrimination, and when she was told to go and kill her brother; she had to decide between a traitor or protecting her family…

The truth was Shadow probably would of done the same thing, and while he couldn't' praise her for what she did he certainly couldn't condemn her. Hearing footsteps he raised his head to see Commander Abraham stopped in front of him. Abraham's discolored eyes looked from Shadow to the adjourned door. And Shadow wondered if Abraham knew if the crying girl was his daughter, but it didn't matter, before now it wouldn't of mattered him if she was crying. But now he was a father himself, and he couldn't' ignore Claire. Because despite she was wearing military clothes (white tank top and cameo pants) it didn't change the fact she was a lonely girl who had just lost her brother.

Without looking at Abraham, he walked into the locker room, dropping the duffle bag he walked over and stood in front of the sobbing girl who, in her grief, was oblivious to her surroundings. Gently he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her forward to force her head into his shoulder and wrapped a arm around her back comfortingly ,"I'm sorry…..I had no right to judge you…" he whispered ,'YOU were only protecting your family…"

Claire's hand gripped his shoulder, her broken thick voice whispering, "I-I didn't want to…..I didn't want to…"

"I know Claire…and I promise you're never going to be alone again…."

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Shadow opened the door to the Chaotix slowly, the lights were off, indicating that everyone was in bed but he caught a glimpse of something flickering in the other room and walked towards it.

IN there TV had been left on, and a sleeping Sari and Mighty lay on the couch, under the same blanket. He heard Espio walk in behind him, "You're taking her home?"

"yeah," he walked forward, sitting on the edge of the couch and watched Sari sleep for a moment before stroking her hair gently, "Sari." he whispered shaking her foot to wake her up

The girl moaned in her sleep for a moment, then rubbed her sleepy eyes before opening them and seeing Shadow, "Daddy!" her arms flew up around his neck," Daddy you're home!"

The red and black hedgehog laughed gently wrapping his arms around his daughter and lifting her up ,"I missed you too kid." and without another word he walked out the door with his daughter in his arms. Sari looked up at him confused, "Daddy your eyes are sad, are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine.' he laughed sadly, "I made a friend today."

"A Sonic friend or a Espio friend?"

"Espio friend.'

"Oh wow! Do I get to meet them?"

"yup. She's going to teach me how to cook so I don't have to rely on Microwave meals. She'll"

"yay! Those meals are disgusting."

Shadow laughed again, hugging her tightly, "Sari, I never want you to think I don't want you, or regret having you ok?"

"Of course Daddy, but why bring this up now?"

"There are just a few things I feel a father should say to their child every so often….."

(ugh its getting way to cutesy, must rectify this! If you like the cutesy then tell me, otherwise it will go away!)


	5. MIA

Chapter

Shadow pulled out the coffee maker, yawning widely, he was so tired. Sari had a ear-infection ,which meant he had to stay up with her treating her ear, he had been send on 10 missions in this week, 24 meetings, and his cholesterol was up. Sighing he rubbed his eyes, waiting for the minute when he could relax, away from annoying people like Sonic…

"Shadow?"

Speaking of people who didn't' annoy him, shadow looked towards the GUN break room door smiling ,"Hey Claire."

"Hey, re-charging after the last mission?"

"Yeah, they're getting annoying." holds out a cup, "want some coffee?"

"Not right now," she then laughed slightly, "Going to another meeting?" referring to his formal military uniform. Shadow looked down on himself and growled slightly, pulling on the sleeves, "Yeah but they're' as annoying as hell, haven't worn this dam thing since I was outfitted for it. Good thing I got black though, green isn't' my color.'

Claire snorted, hand over her mouth, "That's the price you pay for promotion, more missions but more formal time."

Shadow sneered at her ,"Maybe I should recommend YOU for a promotion, then we can be miserable together."

"I guess its true what they say, Misery does love company. are we still sparring later?"

Shadow smiled setting down his now empty coffee, in this eccentric work place, he found Claire's company the least annoying, and most sturdy. Even pleasant. "of course-"

They heard a someone run down the hallway, a small black and blue head stuck into the room, the face of Sari, "Daddy! There your are!" jumping at him

Shadow knelt down and caught her hugging her back, though a little confused, "Its great to see you kid, but why aren't you with Espio?"

"They had to go on a mission, and he didn't want to leave me alone so he left me with you!"

"Did he now?" Shadow sighed, this was great, he had another meeting to go and he couldn't' watch her, looking over Sari's' shoulder he made eye contact with Claire and she smiled instantly; kneeling and ruffling Saris' hair, "Hey sweety, its been a while since you were last here right?"

"Right!"

"Well, we recently added a new hanger with a garage, would you like to go see it?'

"Yeah but,' she looked at her father," I don't want to leave Daddy all alone."

Shadow smiled kindly, her innocence always cheered him up, "I'll be fine, I have a lot of work to do today but I promise we'll do something later ok?"

Sari smiled kissed her father on the cheek and ran after her, grabbing her hand and waving back on Shadow. Her father waved back weakly, wishing he could do more for her. It wasn't fair that Sari had to suffer because of his job. He closed his eyes, 'I'll make it up to you Sari….' he thought to himself. His wrist communicator went off, reminding him of his next meeting and gave out a loud painful sigh, and grabbed a extra large cup of coffee, "Time to go to the 7th circle of hell."

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Sari gasped in aw at the fully renovated hanger, the room was built to hold the biggest and most dangerous vehicles all hung on walls as to keep them out of the way, mechanics on towering rising stands to inspect them. She looked back on a satisfied Claire happily, "This is awesome! But why are the vehicles here?"

"This is where the biggest vehicles go for maintenance after huge battles in war."

"War…" Sari bowed her head slightly fists squeezed then looked up at Claire, "Daddy's going to be ok, right?"

"Huh?" Claire knelt down to get close to eye level," Sweetie what brought up-"

"Daddy goes to a lot of dangerous places, I hear Knuckles talking about it, he's the best so they use him a lot….he's always tired but he takes care of me." unconsciously she reached up and pulled on her infected ear slightly, "and eh never complains…..but these missions are dangerous…" tears filled her eyes, "I don't wanna loose Daddy like I lost Remy."

Claire pulled the small girl into a hug, "Don't worry you're not going loose your father, its just been a stressful week for him, he would NEVER leave you; he loves you too much.."

"But why? The other kids say he doesn't' love me because I'm not his real daughter-

"But he took you in, he adopted you and since then he's raised you." released the small child, and smiled,' Besides, I think those other kids are just so jealous of all the love your daddy shows you ."

"Really?"

"Really." she stood up, taking her hand," Wanna continue the tour?"

"Yeah!"

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"NOW, efforts by the Artic Legion has decreased 3.4%since our arrival; but in Downunda the Eggman Activity has risen 1.2%"

"_Kill me now-Kill me now-Kill me now-Kill me now_." was the only thought that circulated Shadows head as he sat at the long table full of Generals, and Commanders all in matching uniform listening to a rat of a man who was giving them useless statistics. 'why am I even here?' he thought angrily to himself, the only person he knew here was Commander Tower (not that he was on good terms with him currently anyway) he just stared deeply into his cup of coffee before closing his eyes accidentally giving a loud moan.

"Agent Shadow is there something you want to share?"

Shadow opened his eyes and saw the entire committee was staring at him, including the rat-nerd (who looked extremely mad). He sighed again ,too tired to glare at them , but not too tired to voice his opinion," yes, why the hell are we here? There's nothing to discuss."

"On the contraire , Agent shadow" ,even the rat nerds voice was irritating, "We have discovered a dormant device located inside a abandoned Eggman-base and it is now being investigated at base-"

"You brought a device Eggman tossed to the side! One of his many weapon in a abandoned base for us to find and you bring it here! YEAH THAT'S SMART." he snapped

The rat nerd shrank back slightly, beady eyes glaring at his then he smirked ,"You might not be able to comprehend this in your pea-brain, Agent Shadow." his name being said as though the rat-nerd had something unpleasant in his mouth, "But we are not incompetent like you, it is being probed by our robots from a safe distance-"

"Probed?" Shadow laughed coldly, " You're just a #$ genius ' we don't know what it does or why it was there so lets PROBE it until we find out!' BRILLIANT thinking." Shadow stood up , and grabbed his coffee," Now if you'll excuse me I'll be going now while you blow yourselves up." he slammed the door shut storming down the hallway ," stupid humans-""

Huge tremors suddenly wracked the entire building, Shadow dropped his coffee and immediately ran back, the commanders were all over the floor, the rat nerd holding on to the projector he had been using. Running Over Shadow grabbed him by the front ,"What the hell just happened?"

The rat nerd shook for a few seconds, still in shock before speaking "The-the device exploded."

"Ah of course!" he yelled in his face bitterly, tremors continued to shake the entire

A soldier ran in, "Commander Tower! The explosions have caused extensive damage to the Communications room, south Medical ward and A7 Hangar-"

"A7?" Shadow ran up to him," The new hangar?" without waiting for verification he ran down the hallway, tearing off his uniform coat and jacket, "Sari!"

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Claire grabbed Sari and yanked her over to her holding her tightly the ground shaking uncontrollably, all round them the soldiers were running all over, trying to secure the now precariously hanging tanks. Claire picked up Sari and ran towards the doors, the best decision.

Suddenly there was a giant tearing sound and a scream, "LOOK OUT!"

Claire looked back, horrified to see one of he DIABLONS falling from the wall. Right at them, Claire lunged forward, hand over Sari's head as the DIABLON made contact with the floor, a giant explosion sending Claire flying forward off her feet, She ducked her head for a moment before raising it her head in time to see the incoming wall, instantly repositioned herself so her back was facing the wall, a sharp pain flew through her entire back as eh slammed against it, she tried to keep from crying out in pain she looked down on Sari for a moment to make sure the unconscious child was ok before looking back up. To her horror the DIABLON hadn't' stopped when it hit the ground and was now sliding in there direction! Claire tried to get up but the pain in her back was too extreme and she fell again, with nothing else to do she turned to face the wall holding Sari closer to protect her from the DIABLON.

Suddenly there was a flash of gold and a cry "CHAOS SPEAR!" n lights shot out and started slamming into eh DIABLON before it exploded into flames, stopping a few feet from the two girls.

Raising her head she saw Shadow slid up to them, kneeling by them "are you two ok?" his face ,though steely, couldn't hide the frantic nature in his eyes.

"I'm fine, Sari passed out though." she quickly passed the child over to Shadow who gathered her in his arms, looking over her, "We need to get her back to the medical room." he quickly grabbed Claire's arm. Claire nodded, and tried to stand up but cried out in pain before falling again, her back pulsing uncontrollably.

"Claire?"

"Its-its fine, just let me rest here of for a little bit." she gave him a comforting smile, "Go on ahead ok?"

Shadow hesitated but nodded, "I'll be back." then ran down the hallway, taking a few turns before ending up at the Northwest Medical Ward, now overflowing with agents who had been hurt in the explosion. HE looked around frantically before seeing a nurse running up to meet him, quickly Shadow handed Sari off, "Be careful with her." He warned, "I'll be right back." he ran back down the hallway. Ending up in the hangar again, Claire being where he had left her, he knelt by her again, "Tell me what hurts."

"Its my back, its not that bad I just hit a old wound, Like I said all I need is a few moments of rest-"

"You've had plenty." without asking for permission (as requested by the Humane Services) he scooped her into his arms, being gentle with her back, "Hold on." he ordered

"What are you-"

Shadow ran down the hallway again, and , with his speed was back in the North East Medical Ward. He looked around for a few moments before finding a empty medical bed and laying her down on it, doctors coming around to check up on her ,"I'll be back soon I promise.' he gave her hand a gentle squeeze before running back down the ward, looking around frantically before seeing the nurse he had given Sari to and ran up to her, "Where's' my daughter?" he demanded

"You're daughters fine, she has a bruise to the head we're looking at but she has a fever, a pre-existing condition. We're going to keep her here over night. She has her own room if you want to see her."

Shadow sighed , relieved and nodded following her into a back room, Sari was laving on a med-bed , asleep and a bag of ice over her head. Shadow sat down and the nurse, sensing he wanted to be alone.' walked out and closed the door. He smiled for a moment at her nurses compassion, he always liked nurses; they weren't' cold like doctors. Sitting down he put a hand to Saris' forehead ,"Kid?"

The little girl opened her eyes slowly, looking up at him, "Daddy? Is your meeting over?"

He laughed gently, "yeah, how are you feeling/"

"My ears still hurt and my head hurts a little.'

"that's understand able…." he stroked her hair gently, "As long as your safe…."

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Claire sat up out of her cot, the hours having become night and the GUN medical staff taking control of the situation nicely. Feeling her back bandages she felt grateful that Shadow had taken the time to go get her, but she had not seen him since then and felt slightly worried, "I hope Saris' ok…"deciding it was time to go she stood up, pulling on her cameo Military standard jacket. Luckily the staff hadn't think to remove her sunglasses, it most protected secret….

The door opened behind her ,"Permission to enter, Private Vancouver."

Turning around Claire automatically put her palms to her sides, back straight ,"Permission granted!" and was surprised with the face of Commander Tower.

The aged veteran walked in, and Claire found herself wondering if he had figured out who she was , a thought that disturbed her, "Yes sir?"

"How extensive were your injuries?"

"It was just a pre-existing wound that opened up sir, nothing to worry about."

"Good, we have another mission for you." he pulled out a file and held it out.

'Have anymore of my brothers you want me to kill?' she thought bitterly but kept it off her face, taking the envelope and looked inside, reading it for a moment before looking up at him , "The detonator? You mean we didn't cause the explosion?"

"No, Eggman planted it and had a detonator go off if it were ever disturbed."

'So we did.' she thought herself.

" The beacon goes off a few miles into Eggman Territory and our sensors have picked up a small Eggman camp, a spy camp that's remained virtually invisible for months now. We need you to go and snipe them out, and see what they took and what they were planning."

Claire hesitated, she didn't know if her back could handle any big missions right now, but she never did this for herself. "Yes Commander, consider it finished."

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Sari made a disgusted face as Shadow took out a bottle with a eyes dropped on the end, "Do we have to? My ears are feeling better."

"The doctors say otherwise. Let me see your ears." at this point Shadow was out of uniform (or

She sighed leaning her head over, "But it feels WEIRD."

"But it'll make you feel better with time." gently he dropped the medicine into her ears, which mad her automatically rub them, her eyes crossed, "ewe-ewe."

Shadow smirked slightly, 'she lives through fires, but she can't handle ear drops.' she shook his head at this irony.

"daddy?"

"yes?"

"Is Claire ok? We haven't seen her in a while?"

Shadow paused, the wolf-eared girl had completely escaped his mind, he felt bad for that too, seeing as she did a lot to help Sari. "I don't know, I'll go see her then I'll be back ok?'

"can I come?"

"not this time, I'll be back soon." standing up eh walked into the main hall, the excitement had all but died down and the incident resulted in very little casualties. This somewhat relieved Shadow, he didn't want to have to go to anymore funerals. Seeing a nurse he walked up to her ,"Can you tell me what happened to Private Vancouver? Claire Vancouver?"

The nurse read down her list, "She was discharged from the hospital for active duty."

"Active duty? Why are they sending her on a mission when she's hurt!"

"It was a old injury and it had healed over, she was the one he asked for-"

"Who!"

"commander tower-"

Shadow swore loudly, but the nurse quickly added

,'But Agent Vancouver left a note for you."

"A note?"

The nurse nodded holding it out.

Shadow looked at it suspiciously then took it, reading it to himself.

* Shadow,

Guess you got the news of my mission? Sorry I couldn't say bye, it was urgent. don't be mad I accepted this and you can yell at me when I get back. Right now just take care of Sari; I can take care of my self. Stay safe.

I'll be back soon, after all who else is going to tease at your Meeting uniform?

Semper Fi

Claire.*

While it was hastily written and dotted with a smiley face Shadow felt comforted but still had a nagging feeling in the back of his mind , "be careful kid…."

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Claire hurried through the jungle , she was behind on time and the longer she stayed the longer she risked being caught. Seeing a flash of light form above she ducked to the side, under the giant tree leaves and watched the sky as another Egg-copter passed over head. When Commander Tower had told her this mission was in Eggman-territory she had no idea how deep he was meaning, 'this is probably the furthest anyone's ever been, "how did no one see this here before?" that wasn't in her pay-rate to ask questions. Hurrying up the path she saw a light in the distance, and recognized it as a camp. Immediately getting on one knee she took out her scope and peered into it. THE camp was a half submerged metal building, the lights coming from poorly covered windows and was almost completely covered with moss and shrubbery. "no wonder no one's seen it.'

"Oh people have seen it." came a cold voice from behind her, "they just don't live long enough to tell of it."

Claire spun around the shape of the stranger throwing her off ,"shadow? What are -"

"Shadow?" the black and gray hedgehog laughed coldly,' so you know the one whose Shade I was revived in , how ironic. But you saw the Doctors new base, and I can not allow you to leave here alive, girl." he raise his hand and Claire could only watch paralyzed as a purple ball of energy fell into the earth, followed by a huge explosion, stinging fire against her skin then-

Nothing.

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Shadow closed the book he had been reading to Sari (but what the point was of reading to children who were perfectly capable of reading escaped him, but he did enjoy it) and pulled the blanket over her sleeping form, "Good night Sari." he whispered, brushing her hair out of her face gently and walking out of the room. The lights were off, which indicated night hours. Sighing and deciding to get a cup of coffee he stared walked in towards the Lounge

"Shadow! Lieutenant Shadow!"

He turned and saw the nurse (the one with the note from before and the one who took care of Sari) Ashley running towards him , "A message has been deployed."

"IF its another meeting you can tell them to stick it up their-"

"No sir….." there was a look of sadness in her on her face,

Shadow ,now concerned, turned to look on her fully,'what is it?"

"Its Agent Vancouver, there was a explosion at her post….she's' been declared MIA…"


	6. Monster

Chapter 6

_"Its Agent Vancouver, there was a explosion at her post….she's' been declared MIA…"_

The sentence kept repeating itself in Shadow's head over and over again, each time becoming colder and harder to believe ,'She cant' be gone…..she can't!"

"Shadow! Agent Shadow!'

Shadow ignored Nurse Ashley as he stormed through the hallways, the agents who saw him coming instantly getting out of the way, knowing better then to get in the path of a angry Shadow. He continued his march till he reached the Meeting War Room. The nurse grabbed his arm, trying to tell him he wasn't aloud in there at the moment, but he just pulled his arm away , kicking the door down with a single jerk. The Generals and Commanders instantly stood up (the rat-nerd hiding behind his precious projector). Making eye contact with Commander Tower; he was on him in a instant, knocking him out of his chair with a punch to his face, sending him flying into the wall. Shadow followed the assault sending another shattering punch against the commanders face and grabbing his front , as security tried to pull him off, "What's the meaning of this!" he shoved Claire's MIA form , personally signed by Commander," A solider has 48 hours before they are declared by MIA, and even then they are allowed a search party-"

"Its different-"

"HOW!" he screamed in the commanders face, "How the is it different!"

Commander tower grabbed Shadow's wrist, looking up and returning the glare, "She's a orphan, when filling out her will she filled out that if she were ever KIA to not come looking for her body-"

"That's no the same as MIA-"

"Let me finish! And Once Diagnosed with Genetic Disruption and come forth with that information, especially a sniper, forfeit's the rights to MIA. It was set up by General Spruce- "

" The 80 year old Scrooge? SO you're gong to leave her to die and you'll hide behind a Old man for it? A life is a life you cold bastage!" he threw him aside before turning to look on the crowd, now cowering in his presence, he pointed to two guard," YOU go get a chopper ready NOW! This is a order!"

The two, too afraid to fight against him, turned and ran down the hallway. Shadow, glared at the bleeding Commander for a moment before walking down the hallway, and into he locker room, pulling on his battle gear, no clothes this time, they would just get in the way, but he pulled on his weapons, including a heat-tracking lenses for his eye, a medical kit, and several rounds of ammunition.

Someone came in behind, turning Shadow saw the bloodied appearance of Commander behind him face enraged (rat-nerd dabbing at his face to try and get the blood),"I order you to STAND DOWN."

"Order Denied." Shadow shoved right by him, swinging his ak47 around his neck so it hung on his back, normally having so many weapons would make a normal soldiers knees buckles, but he was the exception, so was Claire…he would find her.

Entering the hangar he heard Tower running after ,"Dam it Shadow think about this, this is a suicide mission-"

Turning Shadow yelled right back," So it made it ok to send Claire? Just because she doesn't' live up to your genetic expectations? I used to RESPECT you but you lost it."

"What the HELL do you understand my daughter was-" he paused, Shadow paused, was Tower going to admit to having a daughter with Genetic Disorder? Or that maybe he knew all along that Claire was his daughter? But Commander gave out, "What the hell do _you_ understand-"

"PLENTY!" turning he walked right up to his face, "I think you're jealous of Claire, jealous because she has a evolutionary advantage above so you could never be HALF the soldier she is!' there was a pause and Shadow noticed everyone in the hangar was starring at hem, seeing what would happen, securing his lenses he said, "Call Espio the Chameleon and ask him to come to GUN ,he can watch over Sari. And when I get back there are going to be MAJOR changes to the way you PEOPLE treat Disruptions." Shadow climbed into the helicopter and it closed after him, lifting up into the air.

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Sari woke up, the feeling of someone's hand her brow mad her flinch in pain, "Daddy?" opening her eyes she was shocked to see Espio sitting there, Mighty right by him

"Mr. Espio? Where's my Daddy?"

"He's' out on a mission, with Claire" he couldn't' tell her the truth…

"Oh…" she bowed her head, but then saw Mighty sit by her

"Don't worry Sari, your' dad's the toughest guy around! He'll be fine!"

"I hope so….."

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Shadow landed in blackened clearing cold rain pouring from above (which made him wish he had worn clothes), evidence of the detonation that presumably took Claire's life. Kneeling down he looked carefully, there was no sign of a bomb, no metal shrapnel. He stood up, besides that there was no sign of a body. Shadow quickly walked around the area, looking for something…

Then he saw a bend shriveled piece of metal on the ground by the out jutting cliff, picking it up he looked over it carefully, wiping it off till he saw the tell tale sign of the GUN logo. "So she was here." he looked towards the middle again, "If the bomb was there…then." he looked over the cliffs edge, own below there were several trees, branches broken off and disappearing into black. If the detonation had happened, then the blast would have sent her flying off the cliff, and not caught in the explosion as it was presumed. Shadow felt no relief in this, if anything it lowered Claire's rate of survival. Leaping down, he followed the broken branches down to the bottom, where a indent in the ground indicated where she would of landed but there was no sign of a body. Looking around he looked carefully at the bushes , had she been drug off by one of Eggman's robots? They were certainly common, looking down carefully he saw she hadn't been drug…looking at the bushes he quickly ran over, pulling the leaves back, "Claire?" he asked quietly.

The leaves shook then fell, revealing a worse-for-worn past-out Claire, her body was covered in burns, none life-threatening as far as he could see, her sunglasses hanging loosely, and broken, off her face. She was covered in camouflage she had woven from the leaves that had fallen. Probably to hide from the robots until she could get her strength back. Relieved he ran over to her and knelt down, without touching her (to keep from Scaring her) he simply said, "Claire."

The girl sat up instantly, gun in position to fire, but when she saw who it was, her eyes filled with relief ,"Shadow…"then fell forward

Shadow quickly caught her, hand on her back and tried to shake her, "Claire, you need to stay awake ok? " if she fell asleep with too much blood-loss there was a chance she wouldn't wake up. Best he could do was try to treat her wounds, reaching into his bag he pulled out a med-kit and opened it, "Tell me what happened ok?"

Claire nodded weakly, closing her eyes to try to remember. Shadow understood, most bomb victims couldn't even remember the initial detonation. He lifted her arm and started to gauze off the burns

"I remember…being late…because my back was bothering me….I got there and saw the target…then…..then someone….snuck up behind me….I….thought…it was you….but…it wasn't.'….."

"who?" he wrapped her hands carefully someone who looked like him? That could be anyone (he got mistaken for other people quite often), luckily there were nothing broken so far , he pulled off her ruined sunglasses, moved her head and started shining a small light into her glazed eyes, "Your dilation is normal…and there's' no blood in the mouth…, lean forward so I can check your organs."

Claire, closed her tired eyes laughing weakly and did as she was old, feeling a cold stethoscope against her back, "Didn't know you could play Doctor…."

Shadow didn't' think this so amusing, being so focused on checking for injuries, "I'm not, but when I was on the ARK we would get soldiers regularly and Maria and I would help with treating them." he listened carefully, "I don't sense any internal bleeding." to be sure he pulled up the back of her shirt to make sure there was no discoloration. Satisfied he circled to her front, feeling her pulse in her neck, "what happened next?"

"He said that….there could be no witnesses of Eggmans' new Home Base….and …..and he dropped this ball of energy …it detonated and I went flying off the cliff…." she shivered slightly as she remembered the initial incident, "I-I-woke up and it was raining…I was in so much pain…but I needed to get cover, so I drug myself here ad made myself some cameo….I thought that if I could rest for a little bit I could get the strength to walk …but I must of fallen asleep…." her voice became droopy and tired.

Shadow looked at her again, hand on her face as he tapped her face, then felt her forehead, it was warm and wet from rain, no sign of shock, "Come on Soldier stay with me, where does it hurt?"

Claire nodded to her left leg weakly. Shadow slid down, pulling off he camouflage he drew his head back, face flinched, her thigh covered in painful tree pieces probably from trees exploding, and pulled out a knife cutting the legging off and getting a clearer picture, the pieces wasn't deep but they were numerous, blood flowing off the pieces gently, this needed to be treated now, he looked back on Claire ,"Kid, I'm going to treat your leg, but this going to hurt so don't kick me ok?"

The girl nodded weakly, resting against the tree to her side.

After what seemed to be hours of work, Shadow tore apart the legging he had cut from her pants and began to wrap her leg, "I'm sorry I don't have decent bandages , how are you feeling?"

"Better…"

"good, we need to get moving I did my best but you need a real doctor, can you stand/"

Claire, paused then grabbed the tree by her, and started pulling herself up with Shadow's help. Testing her leg , it gave out for moment but stayed, "I can handle it."

Shadow nodded, then looked around, the ground, "Where's your gear?"

Claire nodded weakly to her left and he went there, pulling out the covered sniper rifle probably put up for its protection against the elements(snipers instinct) and tossed it over to her before swinging her bag onto his back, before looking at her again , his eyes sad, "I'm sorry I can't carry you back, but if I did then I couldn't protect you.'

Claire must of seen his worry because she said, "OH please I'm a agent of GUN, I could protect myself AND you without breaking a sweat.'

Shadow looked up and down saw her confident face, trying to give HIM strength, which, oddly enough, it did. He smiled back, ak47 to the front, "Very well then Soldier, lets move out."

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"Commander Tower, there are Mobians here to see you."

The Commander, eyes black from Shadow pummeling his face, turned to the Private, having been staring at paper work for quite some time since Shadow left on his 'hero' mission. So right now the thought of talking to MORE Mobians wasn't so pleasant, "Who are they?"

"He says his name is Sonic the Hedgehog, and company."

"Sonic/" great , the only thing in this universe as annoying as Shadow, "Bring him in."

The private nodded and ran out and Commander stood up, ready to deal with him. After a few minutes Sonic walked in, followed by several other Mobians who, the Commander dint recognize, which included a chameleon, a red echidna with a crescent on his chest, a small armadillo holding the hand of a small hedgehog with blue and black hair ,'Shadows adopted daughter.' he reminded himself, and a chipmunk girl with blue vest and brown hair and mentally cursed himself, 'Spit…..'

Sonic crossed his arms, "Hello Commander, long time no see."

"Sonic, its always a pleasure to have you here." he saluted, mostly on ground with no feeling behind it, " you may be allowed to visit as you please, but its not a museum,"

"Oh we know Commander, we're here on business."

"What kind of business?" but he already knew

"We're here to talk about the policies your General set up concerning the Genetic Disruption soldiers," he waved his hand behind him ,"and we're here to represent clans and nations who do not like this principal, for example, Knuckles is her representing the Guardians , yes all of them. Espio is here representing the Shinobi clan, and all of the Dragon Kingdom in place , with blessings of Monkey Khan, and Sally," taking the hand of the chipmunk girl ," Represents the Acorn kingdom as its Princess, and my incredibly hot girlfriend. And me, well, I'm here as the Hero of Mobius and all that jazz."

"And the kids?" how did they even hear about it so quickly?

"Oh well, they're here because they're just so adorable.' Sonic put his hands on the kids shoulders, '"Aren't they?"

Commander growled slightly, but Sari walked forward, her eyes full of sadness, " You really didn't' tell Daddy to not help Claire? We all like Claire, and I know you do to."

At this sweet and innocent voice he was forced to turn his head, unable to keep it up," its not under my control, I care fore all my soldiers, no matter the background or genetics, but I have to carry out The Generals commands."

"HA knew it! I knew you weren't' a bad guy! Shadow can exaggerate a little bit, especially when he's furious. I'm lucky he didn't destroy the phone when he called me." Sonic grinned, "So Commander, do you want to let your soldiers to die unnecessary deaths, or do you want to do something about it?"

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Shadow looked back on Claire, they had made slow, painful time through the jungle but he dare not to ask her to walk faster then she could. He knew she was in a lot of pain, and her face was becoming pale, had he missed something with his treatment? He set his gun down ,"We're taking a break."

Claire nodded, stumbling over to a branch and sitting down, elbows on her knees as she panted heavily, hand to her head, "D-Dang….guess I'm more winded then I thought. She laughed weakly smiling. Shadow walked over feeling her forehead, her skin was becoming pale and clammy, "How do you feel?"

"I'm fine Shadow, worry about yourself ok?"

Shadow growled slightly, this mission wasn't going very well, he wanted so badly just to carry her back to base but then he couldn't' protect her from Eggmans' machines that were sure to attack, he kept telling himself that slow and steady was the way, that this way they could hide when seeing a robot, or rest when they need it…but seeing Claire in pain made his heart ache. He put a hand on her back gently, "WE will make it back."

She looked at him, smiling, "Well duh Shadow, did you ever doubt it?"

Shadow paused then smiled back but he heard something break and he turned round, hand to his gun. "where-"

Claire stood up to, her hand pistols in her hands, their instincts on high alert. Shadow focused all his sense on his ears, seeing as his eyes could be deceived…where….

There was a crash behind them and Shadow barely had time to grab Claire and jump before the trees exploded into flames where they had been. A huge robot climbed out the debris, covering their exit. And as it rose up, nearly the size of the first 4 stories of the GUN building, Shadow felt his heart stop as he remembered the name of this certain robot, one that he had seen Eggman spent many nights working on

The Chaos Killer.

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"So now you know our terms, and we have been discussing this for about 3 hours now, will you take our terms or will you let our Humane lawyers come in and 'de throne you'?"

'Dang that's' hot.' Sonic thought to himself, he loved seeing Sally talking politics and verbally stripping a politically corrupted man till he had no choice but to surrender. Yup He loved having a girlfriend who was as hot as they were smart. Looking over he saw Tower standing with him, he knew Tower had a heart, but it was just hard for him to show. Then looked at the man behind the desk, now while Sonic normally had respect for officers, this man looked as unpleasant as could be, his skin wrinkly, his hair dotted with liver spots and sparse in a attempt to grow hair back, his beady eyes glaring at all of them. Sonic couldn't blame the old man (almost ) he was from a decrepit time. It was hard to change your ways. He glanced over at Tower again, eh looked like he wanted to say something…

"Absolutely not!" came the raspy voice of the General, "this has been a long standing rule for many years, before any of your FATEHRS were born, I'm not going to change tradition for you ANIMALS-"

Sonic got ready to step forward, but he felt hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw Commander Tower nod to him before stepping forward, saluting General Spruce, " General, if I may have a word.'

The General stood up, hand saluting back, "Proceed Commander."

"General, I've seen these soldiers at work everyday, soldiers with Genetic Disorder I mean, they are some of the finest soldiers I have ever seen. Brave, willing, and with a profound love for their country. I know you hate them because of what you've seen in the past, I did to….."

The General, truly listening for the first time (Half way tuning out Princess sally before)

"But 17 years ago I had affair with a nurse, and it gave birth to a baby girl, a baby girl with Genetic Disorder, the nurse died and I gave her up for adoption. Not because I couldn't' handle a affair on my record, but I couldn't' handle the thought of my own child having that disease. For a long time afterwards I forgot all about her, but now every time I see a person with genetic disorder I would wonder if they were my child. And after my son became traitor, I regretted not having my daughter with me, if I could change the past I could, but the fact is these are GOOD soldiers. The best of the best, and they deserve the right to decide their fates…."

A daughter? Sonic looked at Tower surprised, he gave up his daughter for adoption? He never took Tower to be so cold, at any point in time, but the sorrow in his eyes let Sonic know that Tower regretted it. Looking back on the General, he knew that the decision was ultimately up to him…

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Shadow went flying back into a cliff edge, sliding to the ground his gun fell out of his bleeding hand, grabbing the wall he forced himself back up weakly, "dam-dam it…" he stood and watched Claire charge the monster next, only to be thrown to the side once, he winced, but felt helpless, there ammo couldn't' penetrate the Chaos Killers awesome defenses, and none of his spears could break through. Running forward he slid behind her hand on her cold back (a bad sign), "Claire are you ok?" he looked up at the insane monster, before looking back down on her.

Panting Claire stood back up, her ak47 back in her hands as she smiled back at Shadow, "Nah….I'm fine….." and laughed weakly, "I think we're wearing it down." then started to cough hard,

Shadow became even more worried he looked at her back and, through her white shirt, could see her skin was discolored, indicating a internal wound and swore to himself, how did he miss it? "This isn't' funny Claire, look you run and I'll fight it off.'

"No way Shadow, if anything you're' going to run."

"What? Don't be stupid-'

"Oh grow up!" Claire looked at Shadow angrily, which surprised him to say the least, 'Look you have a family back home. A daughter, and good friends and a nation that needs you. I don't have anything. My father gave me up, I killed my brother for a mission, and I'm a outcast to society, I have nothing to live for." cocking her gun she turned to run at the monster when Shadows hand shot out and grabbed her wrist and yanked back so hard that Claire fell back into the dirt coughing, turning she found herself looking into Shadows furious red eyes, (obviously not happy), "Shadow what-"

"How the hell can you say you haven nothing to live for! I didn't come all the way here, hijacking a helicopter and punching the commander in the FACE to save a suicidal fool! I came to save someone worth saving, you have Sari, for goodness sake you have ME, I wouldn't' be here if I didn't' care you stupid girl!"

His words drew her back, "Sh-Shadow…"

"And if I so much as hear you say that again I WILL kick you ASS so bad you'll WISH I had left you to die!" he glanced at the monster before looking back on Claire, "NOW I'm making sure we BOTH get out of this , you got that soldier?"

Tears in her eyes, she nodded, quickly she tired to hide them From, "Darn it you can be such a jerk."

"I know."

Claire smiled weakly then her face turned frantic and the next thing Shadow knew something shoved into his chest and sent him flying back into the dust as the robot raised a foot and slammed right where they had been

'CLAIRE!" he screamed, feeling paralyzed, not after all this hell…..she couldn't be….. The dust settled and the robot raised its foot. Running over Shadow peered down, praying for her survival but was surprised to see a body not there, "where-" looking to the sides frantically, then the dust began to settle and he saw the outline of a lying body in the distance ( a few kilos off). Running forward he slid by it his heart stopping.

Claire lay there, her discolored skin now showing through her shirt, her lips were red and his breath was weak, "Why didn't I see it sooner…"he asked himself angrily….she looked so dead… he felt a enormous weight on his chest, almost like grief…

"Sh-Shadow?" a weak voice broke through his subconscious, he quickly opened his eyes to see her peering up at him, "Claire!" he made quick glance at the robot before looking at her, "are you ok?" he glanced up to see the robot heading in there direction, but at a slow pace.

"I've been better, I'll say that…." she laughed weakly, which made the edged of Shadows mouth twitch as he knelt by her his hand on her face

,"Just don't move too much Claire….."

"Shadow…..if I die….."

The word increased the weight on his chest "You're not going to die, you'll be fine-"

"But if I do…just know I was happy I could be meet you, I was happy I could help Sari…and I was happy to be your friend….." she started to cough weakly. For the first time in many years, Shadow felt helpless, he couldn't save Maria, he couldn't save Remus….and now he couldn't even save Claire then something wet started running down his face. Confused he reached up to feel his face, what is…..'" He looked at his hand to see it was pure liquid, "tears? Why-why am I crying!" he demanded, he hadn't cried since Maria died…. He quickly wiped off his face with the back of his arm, "dam it must of broken my tear ducts…or the rain got in my eye….."

The feeling of helplessness started to fade…feeding another emotion, something that had laid in the darkest corners of his heart for years…it began to crawl up, consuming all of his emotions of self doubt and self-pity. Sending a heat through his body warming his bones, the rain now evaporating before it even touched his skin, his inhibitor rings started to glow white, empowered by the heat of his flesh. His normally clear mind became clouded with thoughts and memories of his past and present. Disorienting his perspective. He gently stroked Claries hair out of her face, and asked a single phrase, "Do you trust me?"

"Would I be here if I didn't?" she gave a single laugh, her eyes too clouded to see the steam that was rising from his body.

"Good…then I will protect you…Maria….." eh stood up and turned to face the Chaos Killer, which was now stomping towards him, slowly Shadow walked towards it, to meet it away from where Claire lay in pain. Almost by instinct he took reached down his left arm, fingering his inhibitor ring, before taking it off and tossing it to the side, the red energy surged over his body, a burning pleasant feeling filled his chest. A feeling of being powerful…this was all he needed…he raised his hands above his head, summoning the energy from deep inside his chest. This is who he was.

The Chaos Killer stopped just before him raising its fists high into the air it started to bring them down, to complete its cold mission.

But Shadow just smiled and uttered two words,

"**Chaos Blast**."

Red energy instantly started to grow from his body, the robot immediately started to disintegrate at its touch fading to nothing. The trees breaking at his will and the storm cloud formed above his head reacting to the Chaos that now covered his body. Laughing cruelly he raised his hands above his head, the energy surging and twisting into a single mass spreading around him and expanding. This was REAL power!

Suddenly something started to nag his mind, a voice of reason that uttered a single word.

Claire.

The feeling of 'almighty' wore off and the cold realization came over him, Claire would never survive this if she was hit by his blast! Desperately Shadow tried to draw it back in," No….no!" his mind started to burn as the Chaos willed against him, THEY were in charge, not him. This was no gift, but a curse. Shadow started to scream in pain, falling to his knees and grabbing his head, "CONTROL IT!" he yelled at himself, he had to do it before it was too late! Seeing something off to the side he saw the gold inhibitor ring lay there, like a beacon of hope. Weakly he reached over to it and pulled it onto his wrist. Immediately the pain stopped and the blast faded. As did the energy and all he could was fall forward, the cool rain fell against his skin, reminding him he was back….the monster was gone….raising his head off the mud he saw Claire still laying there, unaffected by the Blast, but was she still alive? Weakly he started to crawl over, every twitched his nerves sent a pain down his body but he didn't care, he had to see her…..finally his hand fell on hers, he looked at her face sadly, "Cla-Claire?" he willed her to open her eyes and look at him….but they remained shut.

IN despair, Shadow's arms gave out as he fell on his face, the 'broken tear ducts' allowed tears to run down his face, "No…."

Suddenly there was a twitch in his hand, he could feel Claries hand respond to his. Raising his head weakly he saw it twitch again, this was no fluke and a great relief spread through him, "Thank…..goodness…" then the world went black.

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"There! Over there I see them! Agent Shadow and Agent Vancouver!"

Who are they?

He felt a hand against his throat "They're' badly hurt, but I think they're going to make it, we need the chopper here now!"

His mind faded in and out of consciousness, was this real? His hand twitched around Claire's gently, and a pained smiled flowed across his face, yes…GUN had come to help her…she was going to be ok….

He felt her hand being pulled away. His eyes shot open and he saw a medic trying o pry her hand out his. By instinct his hand shot out and grabbed the Medics front, pulling him dangerously close to Shadows face and growled, "If you separate us I will hunt you down and tear you apart, and throw your soul into the sun, got it?"

Then he passed out again

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When he next woke up, he was lying in a clean medical bed, Claire lay asleep in a bed by him, her face full of color and healthy which brought relief to Shadow, "Thank God…."

He heard the door open and looked towards it, and saw Sari standing in the door way, her gold eyes full of tears and he felt confused, "Sari, what-"

She ran over and buried her face in his lap, sobbing uncontrollably , speaking quickly, "don't do it ever again Daddy! If you do I'll never forgive you! Not ever ever ever-'

"Wait a minute _wait a minute_." he quickly pulled Sari into his arms (now sure that Claire wasn't dead)wiping her eyes ,"Whats wrong with you-"

"You scared me to death, Daddy! When-when you came in I thought you were dead! You didn't respond no matter how many times I said your name Daddy!" she buried her face into his shoulder sobbing, "Don't do it….ever again."

Shadow's confusion faded into relief which brought a tired smile to his face, as he held her tightly, "I swear I wont…I'm sorry I scared you so badly …"

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Few days later, after Claire and Shadow were cleared from the hospital.

Claire pulled on the last of her formal military uniform, her aching leg protesting the weight of her body, which she quickly distributed to her cane, the doctors said it would take sometime for the wounds to heal, but that they would. Which was a miracle, but in the mean time she would be stuck in her room with nothing to do. She sighed, the price for a miracle she assumed. She was about to head for the door when Shadow came in, his face serious, a stack of papers in his hands ( nerd-rat behind him)

"Shadow-"

He set a piece of paper on the table, "Sign this."

"what is-"

"Just do it."

Claire ,without having time to read it over, quickly signed it. Shadow whisked it away and handed it to Rat-nerd "Congratulations you just became the God-mother of Sari Shadow. With Rat Nerd Lawyer/Scientists as witness."

"Wait, I what-"

"Now sign this, " he put another piece of paper on the table

"can I please just read it-"

"No. Sign."

Sighing loudly she quickly signed it too

"And now, you have authorized searches for you if you were to ever become MIA again"

"Wait -what-"

"You're welcome." he grabbed the suitcase she had, and tossed it to the Nerd-Rat, "Put this with her other things."

"My other things?" had Shadow lost his mind?

"You'll be staying with me and Sari while you recover, its better then staying here."

Claire sat down, cane in her hands, unsure of what to say then just smiled," thanks Shadow."

"Don't mention it." then his smile turned slightly dark," SO you like the new uniform GUN sent you?"

Claire looked down on herself," yeah but it's a little weird they only give these to Lieutenant-" she pause, raising her gaze slowly to see the dark laughter in Shadows eyes, "Shadow-"

"Congratulations on your new Promotion."

"Promotion? Shadow what the HELL did you do?"

"Just recommended you for Lance Corporal, just a few positions below me. You'll get more missions but there's also a required.' his evil smile widen, "required meeting time'"

"Shadow you didn't-"

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A few hours later

"And in the Mobian Jungle, enemy activity has decreased by 4.3% which is also the amount Enemy activity has increased in the Marshland."

Claire and Shadow sat at the far end of the table, listening in to Nerd Rat drone on about statistics. Claire had her fingers to her forehead rubbing her head as though trying to dig the Rat Nerds voice out of her head as Shadow sat beside her, almost giddy with joy at her misery.

Clare turned to look at Shadow miserably,'" And here I thought we were friends."

"we are , and like you said, 'misery loves company.'"

"I think you just like to see people be miserable."

"It wouldn't be a lie if I said I didn't a little joy out of it." he couldn't keep the evil smirk off his face

"As soon as the meeting is over I'm SOOO going to kick your ass."

"OH please you couldn't even do it when you're leg was healed.' he gave loud laugh, which brought the other Generals looking in her direction

"IS there something wrong, Agent Shadow?" demanded the Rat Nerd

"no No of course not continue." he waved his coffee at him, feet propped on the table. Looking at Claire he held out a second cup, "This make us square?"

Claire glared at hem before taking the coffee, "For NOW.'" she took a sip

"See? Isn't' Meeting coffee better then normal lounge coffee?"

"Surprisingly yes." then held out her cup to Shadow,' A toast to our most difficult mission yet?"

Shadow gave a shallow laugh before tapping cup against hers, "Cheers."

"


	7. 3 weeks before

Chapter 7

3 weeks before Events of Chapter 6

"HA ha ha ha ha! ' Shadow has a friend' 'Shadow has a friend'

"SILENCE blue hedgehog! !who the hell even told you!"

"How can I not know? You told Espio, Espio told Vector and Vector told Knuckles and Knuckles told me! Its the circle of life!" Sonic didn't add that he had fact that he had looked up Shadow's phone records.

Said black and red hedgehog was standing with his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, still wondering how Sonic got in his house "Leave me the hell alone blue Hedgehog! I'm on the phone!"

"That's her isn't it? Give me the phone!"

"What! NO! Get the hell out of-" then force himself to shut up, he had promised himself that he would control his cussing since he had a child in the house, and since she was sitting just behind him at the kitchen table (coloring innocent pictures) he gritted his teeth, "Please get out of my HOUSE blue hedgehog !'

"Ooh! Manners!" then ,before Shadow could do anything, grabbed the phone and disappeared into a blue flash. Shadow growled angrily then knelt by Saris' chair, holding her face and making her look him in the eyes, "Sari, I'm going to be violent for a little bit, so can you please cover your ears?"

Sari ,being the awesome little girl, covered her ears nodding. Shadow gave her a kiss on the forehead before running through the house, looking room to room till the voice drifted from the 2nd floor

"Aw, he visits you everyday? That's so sweet-"

Shadow leapt up the stairs, kicking down the door to his room where Sonic, to his anger, was laying on his bed with the phone feet in the air like a teenage girl,

"oh you sound so nice!". giving Shadow a girly wave, "Hey Shads!"

Shadow lunged forward to grab the phone back but Sonic rolled off the bed onto the other side, his mischievous eyes battling the death glare he was receiving from Shadow ,"I almost forgot to tell you, Miss Claire, Shadow's hosting Fun night this weekend!"

"AM not! That's something you just made up-"

" He didn't TELL you? OH what a shame, well, He's telling me to invite you-"

"No I'm not-"

"And bring a bathing suit, we're going to the pond."

"You can't even swim-"

"You can come! Great! Come over tomorrow! Cya and here's Shadow!"

Before Shadow could do anything, Sonic had tossed the phone at him, making him catch the phone. Before he could get his revenge Sonic had disappeared in a blue streak, fuming Shadow just stood there for a few moments till he remembered Claire was still on the phone and held it to his head, "Sorry about that, Sonic gets a little too excited without his ADHD medicine, wait, did you said you'd' come?"

"Well, yeah, I never get off base so it'd be a nice change of scenery." then her voice became sad, "Unless its not really going on.."

Shadow felt guilt, his hand to his face, rubbing it slightly,' NO no its real."

"Really?"

"Yeah really, there's even a dinner afterwards." 'dinner?' he asked himself mentally before going back to the conversation, "So you can go on ahead and stop by."

"Oh wow! That's amazing Shadow! Thanks! I'll be there!"

Shadow smiled, saying his goodbyes and hanging up the phone before laying down on his bed on his back. What had he j

just done! He couldn't cook a egg let alone a dinner! He gave a giant moan rubbing his eyes, "."

"Daddy?" opening a lazy eye, but not raising his head, he saw Sari standing in his doorway, a stuffed bunny hanging on her side as she looked on him confused but waiting for permission to enter his room, ( a long standing rule). Shadow waved at her and she walked, climbing on the bed and cuddling into his side. Subconsciously he wrapped his arms around his daughter, holding her close, "What's up sweety?"

"You were yelling again and I was worried."

"Don't be Sari, its my job to worry about you."

"Ok." she raised her head to look up at him," We're having a Fun Day?"

"Yup."

"And Claire's coming?"

"Yup."

"And we're going to the pond."

"Yup."

"And you're cooking a real dinner?"

"Yup."

"Are you going to burn down the house?"

"I'll try not to sweety."

"Do you want me to go outside so if you need to cuss you can go ahead?"

Shadow laughed weakly, ruffling her hair ,"You're such a good girl."

Next morning

Claire, woke up to a strange beeping sound it took a few moments for her to realize it was coming from her wrist communicator. SO , sitting up, she reached onto her messy nightstand and pulled out her communicator yawning she held it to her head, (too tired to actually put it on her wrist) "Agent Claire Vancouver speaking' rubbing her face to restart circulation.

And it surprised her to hear a Childs voice on the end," Claire? Claire? Its me Sari."

"Sari?" Claire opened her eyes, now recognizing her voice ,"Hey how long has it been ? You OK?"

"Daddy's' mad and I think he's trying to destroy the house. "there was a crashing sound in the background, which made Claire stand up, "Ok, where are you right now Sari?"

"I'm outside, Daddy told me to go outside so I wouldn't hear his cussing." ( very faint in the background ,"SON OF A WITCH!)

"Ok, Sari I'm coming by ok? You just stay outside and I'll be there." Claire quickly pulled on a pair of cameo pants and a white tank top lacing up her military boots, her heart racing , 'what's going on! Shadow never gets THIS mad! Especially within a hundred miles of his daughter!' pulling up her long gray coat and (subconsciously) her packed duffle bag and keys.

It didn't take that long for her motorcycle to pull into the dirt road that would take her to Shadows house ( a address Shadow had given her a few days previous).

Ever since she became Shadows friend, there was barely day that went by that a soldier or concerned nurse, would come up to her and warn her about Shadow. But she didn't care, ever since Shadow had comforted her , it was impossible for her to see any dark bones in his body. He even spent off hours' with her, and would talk fondly of his daughter so she found it hard to even think he would harm her. But to be safe….

Finally she broke through the forest, giving Claire her firs impression of Shadows house which was surprising to say the least. The grass was so over run Claire could barely see the bottom story window, but she could see Sari swinging on a porch swing, a big book in her hands.

Claire climbed off pulling her helmet off, now she could hear loud crashing sounds coming from inside the house, swears immediately following. Hurrying over she knelt by Sari, who didn't seem to notice the loud noises, "Sari, sweety are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine. "she looked up from he book smiling

"Are you hurt?"

"No, Daddy told me to go outside so I wouldn't get hurt on the knives."

"Knives!" she sighed, dropping her duffle bag she stood up, hand on Saris' head, "I'm going to go talk to your father ok? Where's he at?"

"Kitchen, his Arena.'

"Arena?" deciding not to question this, she opened the door and walked in, already hearing Shadows rage form the front door, and quickly shut it as to protect Saris' innocence from her fathers angry words.

"Thou tottering half-faced varlet! Ow!"

"Eh?" Following the sounds of the crashing plates she peered into the kitchen for only a sec before being forced to duck to avoid a cooking pot, "HEY! Shadow its me!"

"huh? Claire! Sorry!' there was a flash and Shadow was at her side, taking her arm gently he lifted her to her feet, "Claire you ok? You didn't get hit did you!"

"no no I'm fine." Claire smiled at him gratefully then her face clouded over, the kitchen was a absolute mess, the walls were stained with brown and black musses (probably fire balls) and the ground was drowned in water (which was also staining with black) the counters were covered in dirty pans and broken knives. That's when she saw Shadows gloves were covered with burn holes, "Shadow? Have you been trying to cook?"

"Huh? Yeah…" he looked slightly embarrassed, he reached to turn off the stove but instantly the pot boiling over (with something that looked almost radioactive) spat out something and Shadow threw his head back ," SON OF A WITCH HEIFER COW BLASPHEMY!" his hands flew over his eyes, " DOTN HURT THE MAN THAT COOKS YOU!" he yelled at the seemingly harmless pot, then looked over and saw Claire, red faced with laughter, "What/!" he demanded.

"Oh nothing." then walked over, hand on his head ,"Tilt your head back."

"why-"

"Just do it."

Rolling his eyes, Shadow complied. Claire gently pried his eye open, "Its jus red, you'll live."

"Well duh." Shadow pulled his head away then look at her hands, as though worried, "What about yours?" referring to when she tore her gun apart

"Yeah its fine, but a better question, what were you doing into eh kitchen? I thought you couldn't cook, so it confused me when you said you were cooking-"

"I know I can't , but Sonic stole the phone, made up Fun night, and I was going to tell the truth, but everyone started getting excited, especially Sari, and I couldn't back down."

Claire felt sympathetic for him and smiled gently, "Here lets see what you have, " standing up she walked into the kitchen (shadow behind her) and opened the fridge to find it mostly empty ,"Wow what didn't you try to cook?" she moved into the bottom drawers, "You have fruits left, and cheese, that might work." looking back on him she gave him a comforting smile," Do you have any pasta?"

"Pasta?"

"Spaghetti."

"Oh," he walked over tot eh cupboards, looking through carefully then pulled out 3 boxes, "I must of overlooked them." then held them out to her, "what are you going to do with them?"

"You'll see."

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Not right now," then looked back on him," Maybe you should take care of your yard while I cook."

"how?"

"Well, give me a few moments" Claire ran out the door. Confused Shadow walked after, wandering what had gone through the girls head then he saw her run into the shed (something he had forgotten all about) . He followed her in, "Claire?" he couldn't' see much in the dark, he felt Sari grab his hand, also curious.

A loud roaring sound, like a paper shredder with rusty blades eating a squirrel came form the dark and sent Shadow leaping away from the shed while holding Sari, hair on end and ready to take on whatever monster live in his shed .when he saw something small red ( like a miserable excuse for a cycle) come out, brown with rust and Claire at the wheel, her face ecstatic, "Here you can use this!"

"What IS it?"

"it's a lawn mower silly, you just drive it around the yard and it cuts grass."

Shadow growled at the dinky broken thing ,"Their's no way in" eyed Sari slightly, "Disney Land I'm riding that thing."

"But its what you use to cut the grass-"

Sari looked up at shadow grabbing his hand," Go for it Daddy! It looks like fun!"

Shadow looked from Sari, to Claire, and to the Red Terd (which he had officially named), "Fine.' he gestured for Claire to get off, when she did; he slowly walked over to the lawnmower, which sat quietly. He gently kicked it with his foot which caused it to burp black smoke out of the exhaust pipe. He leapt back shocked then realized how ridicules he was acting, He had driven TANKS bigger then this dam it! Determined Shadow climbed on, looking down on the controls. This looked simple enough, automatic controls, a reverse pedal and a gas pedal, this brought a smirk to his face, "Too easy!" he turned the key of the Lawnmower.

The Red Terd once again roared to life, the lawnmower (even though tiny) started shaking uncontrollably. Shadow, instantly grabbed the steering wheel, trying to stop the shaking ,"what the hells' WROGN with it?" he demanded of Claire over the noise

"There's ' nothing WRONG with it, be lucky its working at all!"

"Ok ok FINE!"

"Hold up !"

Shadow watched her run over, taking a military bucket cap out of her pocket and pulling it over his head, "To keep the sun out of your eyes."

He growled his thanks and started off to work, even though the lawnmower looked weak and small, it sure was hard to handle as he worked his way around the yard at a snails pace. But , with every inch foot, that little thing was determined to throw him off and it wasn't too long before his body was sore, his teeth ached, and he was sweating under the heat.

Finally Shadow climbed off hands his knees as he used his cap to wipe off his forehead, his mission finally accomplished, "A-about dam time." he sat down on the porch swing closing his eyes, "I've officially become a domesticated father…"

"Oh please you're' anything BUT domesticated."

Opening up one of his eyes, he saw Claire walking towards him, 3 cups of lemonade in her hands as she sat down by him, handing him two cups

"Thanks." he downed one instantly then looked at the other one confused, "Is Sari joining us?"

"Nah, she's taking a nap. That's for your forehead."

"Huh?" curious he pressed the glass against his forehead and was immediately rewarded with the coolness that seemed to spread through his body. Sighing happily he looked over at Claire, "Thanks."

"You're' welcome., you're lucky you got to the yard before it got too bad. Now it'll be easier for you to cut next weekend."

"You have to be kidding me, I have to cut it AGAIN!" he demanded

While most people would jump at this remark, Claire covered her mouth and pressed her face into her knees to smother her loud laughter. At first Shadow glared then smirked, leaning back against the porch swing "You're ok kid, strange, but ok."

Claire sat up, wiping her eyes smiling then leaned back too, looking up at the sky," I'm happy to see Saris' happy here, you're a good father."

Shadows face dimmed slightly, lowering the glass, "if anything Sari's a good kid, and I'm just trying to keep her innocent."

"What do you mean?"

"Sari is a great kid, a great daughter, she's' sweet but she doesn't know anything else. For example, I took her to her schools clubs fair and she wants to play hockey, HOCKEY. That's a tough sport and she might get hurt and I don't think she understands that….she doesn't know how mean other kids can be, she doesn't know how unfair life can be-"

"She lost her brother, that's pretty unfair, Saris' tough."

"But she's just a kid, I want to protect her from the world, so she never stops smiling…." he closed his eyes taking the cup from his head for a moment, the stress heavy on his mind. These were the thoughts that kept him up at night…he wasn't used to sharing like this but he felt he could trust Claire, she was so warm and inviting….

"You can't protect her forever…"

"That's comforting." he growled free hand to his face

"No let me finish, you can't protect her all the time so teach her how to protect herself….so you don' have to worry about her being alone …ok?"

Shadow just rolled his eyes, but he had to hand it to her, "I suppose you're right." he slid off the bench," the annoying ones will be here soon enough, would you like me to help you set the dishes?"

"Oh I would, but you might break them."

"Probably, can I take credit for helping you cook?"

"Its your house."

"We're going to get along just fine kid."


	8. Shadows and Regrets

A black chameleon made his way through Dr. Robotnik lair, robots passing by (all seemingly egg shaped). The Chameleon had worked for many strange figures before, but none THIS strange. Then again, he didn't' technically work for Eggman, he worked for the man Eggman TEAMED up with. He walked up to a door ad knocked hard.

"come in' came the cool dark voice from within

Doing as he was told, The Tracker walked in. The room was exceptionally dark, and he was barley able to make out the properties of the room, but just the hedgehog that sat at the table, his fur black with gray streaks, his mouth almost unnoticeable. The man himself gave off a aura of cold (you couldn't miss it even if you were a ninja) and it sent shivers down the Trackers back. He forced it back, "You called for me Mephiles?"

"yes." the same cold voice, "Eggman is only getting in my way, at this rate we wont be able to move forward with my…..'plans' for years. I must get it started now?"

"How?"

"I need to find the Chaos Child."

"The child created from a Chaos Emerald? "he remembered, upon hearing this story, how fascinated he had been with the concept, but now (being around 2 mad -men who were so obsessed with it) it unnerved him,

"Yes, as you know the child was lost in a fire months back, but we know she isn't' dead. We just don't know where it is.'

The Tracker nodded, to show he was following

"But there was ONE person that was there that night, that saved the child."

"Shadow."

The sound of Shadows name made Mephiles eyes glint evilly, "Yes, but he wont talk, I already know that. So we're going to make him talk." standing up, Mephiles walked on over to the Tracker, holding out a needle and a mechanical glove, "THE needle will fill Shadow with a venom that will send hallucinations through his body, to jumble his mind and confuse his body. And THIS." holding out the mechanical glove, "Will allow you into his mind, PULL the information if you have to. And please." Mephiles eyes grew even wilder, "Make him suffer."

"Yes, how do you propose I get him alone? He has al those annoying friends."

"I already have that part figured out, my friend….."

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**50 years ago**

**His life was just as his name implied: a shadow, a life in darkness hidden from the world so unique yet so misunderstood. people fear what lies inside of the shadow. He never blamed them though, scoffed sometimes yes, but never blamed. He was a weapon, and a weapon was to be feared. But at one point the was much more then that, he was hope. On the ARK he was seen as the key to destroying a deadly disease that ransacked the Doctors granddaughter, but the fear was still there.**

**But SHE never feared him, the girl who he was created to save. She always smiled at him, so full of warmth and happiness, creating her own light. He was the shadow created from her love , but he was proud of that. He wanted to save her…but before a cure could be found the ARK was raided, soldiers on orders came to the ARK to shut it down. Killing anyone who resisted. He knew what would happen if they got a hold of Maria, so he ran with her, he had to get her out.**

**Even though Shadow was faster then the speed of sound, it was drug down by the slower, more fragile Maria that he pulled behind her, his hand clasped tightly around hers and his mind focused on the goal ahead, ' we have to make it….SHE has to make it.'**

**"Shadow, where's Grandfather?" her voice cut through his thoughts full of desperation, even now at this dire moment she was more concerned with others safety, that's what he loved about her.**

**But he couldn't lie," Doctor Robotnik was taken by the soldiers, arrested." suddenly a heavy weight fell on his link between Maria and he was forced to stop. When he turned around to see what had happened he saw Maria on her hands and knees, tears streaming down her face and pain in her eyes.**

**He quickly knelt by her, "Maria are you ok? You're not hurt are you?" he scanned the area quickly**

**"Why….why are they doing this?"**

**The question confused him," What do you mean-"**

**"This why are they doing THIS?" Maria looked up at Shadow, "What did we do wrong? Why are they hurting everyone?"**

**Her eyes broke his heart, his hand reached out and took hers and squeezed it gently," I don't know Maria, but that doesn't change the fact I'm in charge of protecting you, and that means getting you off this ship so right now you have to be strong ok?"**

**The girl nodded standing up and they continued their run.**

**But that was a lie, he knew why they were here. They were here to destroy the weapon of darkness. To kill him, that didn't matter though….**

**The door marked "Ejection" came into view and he felt relief, he called back," Maria we're almost here, you're going to be ok." the door slid open and the pod was in view…Maria was safe-**

**Suddenly a gunshot shot through the air he felt a giant shove behind him as he fell into the pod, the door closing behind him. What had happened? He turned and his heart stopped. Maria was bleeding, her beautiful blue dress was stained red at the chest, her face was pale but she offered a weak smile as she painfully made her way to the pod.**

**Shadow became desperate, brining his fist against the pod, "Maria! Wait What are you doing?"**

**"I'm…not going to make it Shadow…..you….still have a chance….."**

**"Maria no! You're going to be fine! We can get out of here together!"**

**She turned to look at him again, her eyes still holding their warmth as she clung to the lever that would eject him," We both know better….you have to live …you are…..Hope…..sayonara…Shadow the Hedgehog" and her body gave out the switch pulling down with her.**

**'MARIA!"**

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Shadow woke with a start, his hand clinging to cup he had been holding when he had fallen asleep, yelping as the hot coffee spilling spilled over his hand and the glass into his palm. He quickly shook his hand, leaning back in his chair (away from the bills he had been working on) and held his hand to his chin, "dam dam dam ddam-"

"Shadow?" Claries voice came from the laundry room, her head (free of sunglasses) poking through the doorway, "What was that sound?"

Shadow blinked for a moment before hiding his bleeding hand," Nothing….."

Unfortunately Claire knew him better then that, she walked in and grabbed his hiding hand and turned it over to reveal the bloody stains, "Ouch, here let me get a med kit."

"Med kit?" he scoffed, "OH please-"

"No not this time, no arguments you're getting help for your hand." then she walked out, allowing Shadow to roll his eyes, "who ever heard of the Ultimate Life form needing a band aid?" Thinking he could sneak out, he grabbed his paper work and ran for the door

when a hand caught his elbow, "NO you don't'."

Cursing Claire's almost Mobian like speed, he allowed himself to be drug back, a first aid kit waiting for them at the table, she pointed to the chair, "sit."

Shadow glared at her, crossing his arms. PLEASE, he could break a dinosaurs spine in seconds and not break a sweat, there was no way she could tell him what to do. Suddenly Claire crossed her arms too, returning the glare, this when on for a little while (probably 10 minutes) when Shadow couldn't take it anymore and turned his head away, "FINE! But not because you told me to!" fuming he sat down, putting his bloody hand on the table. Grateful Sari was at Espio's (he had said something about taking Sari and Mighty to a festival)

Claire gave a satisfied nod sitting down too, "Now take off your glove."

Moaning and rolling his eyes he pulled off his gloves, revealing black hands with red flame marks on his palms, the design being quite artistic and brought a smile to Claries face. Shadow noticed the look on her face and felt his ears dip slightly with embarrassment (why he was embarrassed he didn't know), "Don't get used to it, you're the first one whose seen my hands in 50 years."

"I wont," taking out a gauze she started to dab at his cuts and burns , his face winced slightly but he didn't whine. After wards , after she wrapped his hands and pulled his gloves back on, "there."

Shadow flexed his hands gently, seeming to approve ,"Thanks." then looked at her leg as though worried, "What about yours?" referring to the last mission they had, the reason why she was recovering here ( a few days previous). He remembered that day, the burning of his flesh as the Chaos Energy escaped him, trying to take over…so much pain….seeing Claire's almost dead body. Ever since then he had been wracked of nightmares from his past, sleep almost impossible. He close his eyes, supporting his stressed head with his good hand. He felt a hand fall on his shoulder and he opened his eyes again, Claire's concerned face looking at his

"Shadow are you ok?"

"Yeah I'm fine….just tired." he gave her a weak smile

"Why don't you go upstairs and lay down? I can watch over things."

"Wouldn't' do any good." he pulled his hand away, "Haven't slept in days."

"Then there's only one thing to do."

Shadow watched her walked over to the coffee maker and hand him a cup (a Styrofoam cup), "Coffee makes everything better."

"That it does kid, that it does." he stood up, "Here, lets go spar for a little bit, beating your face up will wake me up."

Claire rolled her eyes but followed him outside. She learned a while ago that when Shadow was stressed that he would either a) prepare clean his guns or b) sparred with people. And , since his guns were all cleaned to almost "brand new" condition the task of being Shadows' stress reliever went to Claire. Then again, he knew she didn't mind, that's what made her such a good friend. Walking outside he glanced back on her for a moment, smiling slightly she really was a cool kid. They made their way to the backyard, targets and random bags of sand scattered over the place, the sand marking where the ring was.  
You see, even though Shadow and Claire never held back in a fight against each other they never tried to kill each other (atleast, they CLAIMED to never try to kill each other) they wanted a way to chose a winner fo their skirmishes. So the ring of sand was set up so that who ever fell out first, lost. So far it was Shadow 129 and Claire 125 which was pretty good for a Overlander.

Shadow stepped into the circle and took his place on the far end, he watched Claire take off her combat boots ( 2 more odd things about Claire is 1) she always wore combat boots, and 2) she always took them off before entering the ring ). He smirked slightly, her habits did brighten his day. She must of noticed his smiled because she automatically became defensive, "what?"

"Oh nothing Odd woman, nothing."

Instead of satisfying Shadow with a remark she just stuck her tongue out at him before stretching her arms and legs and shaking out the cramps that followed and settling into stance, "You ready?"

Shadows grin widen greatly as he appeared in front of her, fist shooting out.

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Gun Commander finally drew the ice-pack away from his face, "Dam, whoever taught Shadow how to throw a punch should be a Commander." even though the initial fight had been days ago his face still ached as though it was just a few minutes ago. Due to the injuries to Agent Vancouver he had to give her medical leave it wasn't for long (for someone in recondition) but it was the best he could do. He wanted to commend her on her actions and locating of Eggmans' new base. A normal soldier would have been given a award but due to her….'special condition' she would get a pat on the back and medical leave but nothing else. But He could tell a soldier in the rising when he saw one, and she would become a valuable asset with time ,and respect.

There was a knock on the door and Commander was forced to snap out of his thoughts, hands back on his paper, "Come in."

To his displeasure, the Rat Nerd came in, a stack of papers in front of him, "I have a update from General Rufus."

"Yes, proceed Professor."

"Yes, we currently have all soldiers in the field (at least ones not assigned to base) and attacking The new Egg-base."

"Yes, so what's' the problem?"

"Well, it's a low-level Military Priority but you have it high on your list so I thought I would come to you about it."

One good thing about Nerd Rat was that he knew who to kiss up to, "Yes?"

"Its the Space Colony ARK, there was a disturbance on board, it activated the GUN security measures on board. It's nothing big, probably a Space Ghoul but you told me that if anything disturbed the ARK to come to you."

Commander nodded, the ARK had been a second home to him, and when he was given the ability to choose his priorities (as Commander) he immediately chose the ARK. Things up there had been quiet till now, "Is there anyone we can send to check it out?"

"NO sir, like I said everyone's been assigned."

Sighing, he leaned back in his chair, even though it probably was nothing he wanted to make sure the ARK wasn't ruined. His mind drifted back to Shadow and Claire, even though they were on Medical leave, they should be ok for this minute mission. He looked to Professor Nerd Rat, "I have two agents in mind, I'll go get them on my own."

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Shadow collapsed on the ground panting, even though Claire was just a human she still put up a pretty good fight. He watched her swing over and sit by him, handing him a towel ,which he took gratefully. Then noticed the smile on her face, "what?"

"I won this time."

"Oh please you're' so full of it!"

"You lost the moment you stood in the tree! Remember? Weeks ago we agreed the Tree wasn't part of the ring so you lost."

"Oh contraire woman, you broke down the tree remember? And MY rules-"

"your rules-"

"Yes MY rules, dictate that you break my property you loose."

"Under what notion-"

"Simple, I'm the Ultimate Lifeform and there-fore I have the ability to change the rules of any sparring-" this earned him a kick to the leg which made him laugh loudly.

Claire just rolled her eyes, standing up, "I'm going get us some water bottles, you want one?"

"sure." watching her disappearing to the house, Shadow laid down, a hand behind his head. He had thought a day without his daughter would be boring, almost lonesome. But Claire had fixed that. HE was grateful for her company. Shadow closed his eyes to feel the warmth of the sun on his fur. Life was good…

He heard a car-door slam but ignored it for a moment, 'Probably the mailman.' before sitting up and looking behind him..

He was shocked to see a GUN car sitting in the driveway, "Another mission?" he grumbled. Standing up he started walking over to car when he froze, "That's Commanders car." realizing what this meant he ran faster, sliding up to the car he saw it was empty which made him even more frantic, "Oh no."

8

Claire walked into the kitchen, humming happily. She had been enjoying life with Shadow and Sari (which surprised her). Shadow was competitive enough to prevent her from being bored and Sari was adorable enough to keep her spirits up. Not only that but fresh air was doing wonders to her injured leg , which was almost healed up. Claire reckoned it would be a few more days before she was back to active duty. Opening the fridge she looked in, most of the food being fruits and takeout left overs which made her roll her eyes, "Dang it Shadow I keep telling you to let me go buy REAL food-"

"Lance Corporal Vancouver what are you doing/" someone demanded a few feet behind her

'that voice1" Claire, so shocked fell away from the fridge, 'that's the Commander! And without my sunglasses-' she quickly covered her eyes, back to the Commander her heart racing ,she couldn't' let him see the Genetic proof of their relation.

"Where's Captain Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"I-I-I don't know sir," she quickly used her free hand to run over the counter to try and find something to cover her eyes. She heard the Commander walk closer, "Soldier, look me in the eye when I'm talking to you-" a hand grabbed her shoulder, the rough hand of the Commander

she cringed"Oh No-"

Suddenly a gust of wind entered the room, and a alien hand yanked the Commanders off, "do you not have manners Commander?" said the voice of Shadow, "You don't go into peoples houses and harass my guests."

"No one answered the door, so I came in and was treated rudely by your 'guest'-"

"Form what I heard you weren't being very warm yourself.'

Claire felt Shadow slip her sunglasses into her hand gently. She sighed with relief, giving Shadows hand a squeeze of thanks before pulling them on, and turning to face the Commander ,"sir is there a reason why you're here?" confidence restored

"Yes, there was a break-in at one of our protected sights and we were notified. All our spare agents are busy so I thought we'd send you-"

"Incase you forgot, Commander." Shadows voice was full of scoff (still bitter towards the Commander after all the misunderstandings between them), "I signed off for a short vacation and Claire is on Medical leave. Now, since you keep rudely coming to my house without invitation, I hope you don 'mind if I ask you to LEAVE-'

"Shadow this is important, its low-class but it means something to both of us." the commanders face was sad and slightly pleading ,(something Claire had never seen before), "Its the Space Colony ARK."

Claire watched Shadows face turn shocked, almost scared, before going back into a cold mask, "How bad is it?"

"WE suspect its just a Space Ghoul but I knew you might want to know about it….will you take it?"

"Yes but I'm not asking Claire to-"

"I'm going." Claire crossed her arms. There was something weird about this….and she had never seen Shadow look so unneverved before and he would need her help. The Commander nodded, handing them a envelope, "There will be a pod waiting for you to fly you into space at the GUN hangar 2B." he saluted them and left. Claire waited for the

Roar of the Commanders Car to start up before turing to he friend, "Shadow-'

"Just go get ready, we'll leave in half an hour." without looking at her, he turend and walked back int the house.

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Claire and Shadow stood in attention att eh Hangar, fully garbed in Space GUN Ops uniform. For Claire this meant black skintight pants and a black long-sleeved turtle neck. Black combat boots, and a dark blue vest (Lined with gear needed incase fo emergency) and a small pack on her back (for if she was sucked inot space, the gear would activate and give her a helmet and a jet pack). Her ak47 loose around her neck, but her fingers gripped the gun tightly. It wasn't' that she was in a dome-ship (despite the fact she had never been to space before) but the energy she was getting form Shadow was worrying her.

You see, when she first started hanging out with Shadow many people (mostly nurses or security guards) confronted her and told her he was unsafe. And when she asked why they'd say, 'it's the look on his face, so disturbed.' which ,of course, she's' brush off after thanking them for their concern. But now Claire could see the look they had warned her about on Shadows face.

Haunted, drawn, but she wasn't' afraid, she'd never fear her best friend. Yet that didnt' mean she wasn't' worried about him. For some reason, the look on his face almost looked sad…..

"Agent Vancouver, are you listening!'

Claire jumped, gripping her gun tightly to her chest under the glare of the Space Commander Rufus, "Yes sir, please proceed."

While Commander Rufus showed more concern for his troops (unlike Commander Tower) he was certainly more agitated to being ignored, so giving Claire a last glare, he looked at the both of them, "Aright, when you get to Space Colony ARK, its simple. Get in. Get out. We don't need anyone up there longer then necessary.. If you run into trouble use your Emergency Pads to alert GUN base where we can send what assistance we have.'

Claire already knew it would be pointless to use the Emergency Pads, after all, if they In fact had spare assistance. It would of been THEM to be sent to the ARK and not a injured sniper on recovery and a hedgehog who looked as grim as death.

After a final salute, Claire and Shadow climbed onto the egg shaped pod, the inside being lined with a velvet seat and a circular window and a small breathing station (so the passengers could see the progress to the ship and deal with shcok if necessary) taking a seat, Claire strapped her gun to the safety holsters in the wall before strapping in herself. The door gave a giant hisssssssss and closed, the pod stated moving as ti was transported to the outside to be launched. Looking over she saw Shadow sitting in his seat, visor down and gripping his gun tightly, the same haunted look plaguing his face.

"Shadow?"

A grunt served as a indication of response

"What's wrong? I've never seen you like this before."

"I'm always like this."

"No, normally your arrogant, cocky, and trying to make me miserable. But now you just look sad…."

Shadow looked away

"Is it about going to the ARK."

The black hedgehog turned and gave her a glare so harsh Claire gasped; hurt. Realizing what he did Shadow sighed, lowering his gaze ,"I'm sorry Clairece."

Now she was defiantly worried, he had never used her full name before (at least not out of seriousness) .,"Shadow-"

Suddenly there was a roar of the engine and the ship turned hot. On insticnt ot the rapid to the heat Claire grabbed her gun but felt a hand grab hers, looking down she saw Shadows hand gripping hers, as though trying to calm her down. Blinking Claire nodded leaning her head back and closing her eyes, remembering al the stories she had heard of other soldiers first 10second launch and the horrible side-affects, maybe it wouldn't affect her ….

there was a second roar and the ship slowly started to lift, before a huge burst of speed took over, the ship shooting through the sky at high speeds. Out the window the green of the forest immediately turned to blue then to pure white (if only for a moment) and burst into space.

Shaken Claire took several deep breaths, dropped her gun and fell forward, hand on her knees as she shook uncontrollably, her stomach dry heaving. So that was a lift-off? A hand fell on her back and gently started rubbing it, "I wish you had told me you never had been in a lift off before. I would of gotten you medicine or something."

Peering up she saw Shadow had unbuckled his seat and moved to sit by her. Even though his face was slightly concerned, it didn't' hide the still drained look on his face. Reaching up she put her hand on Shadows looking back on him, "Sh-shadow wh-why ca-can't you just tell what's' going on…why-why are you so afraid to go-"

"Just shut up and use this." reaching under the seat he pulled out the breathing mask, "To help get over your shock." and shoved it into her face

Claire glared slightly but took it and held it to her face, taking itn several deep breaths, the dry heave fading and her thoughts became clear again. Shadows hand tightened on her shoulder, "I. was born here Claire….the Space Colony ARK is where I was created by Gerald Robotnik….the Commander used to live here too…that's hwy he sent me…"

She looked back on him shocked, his eyes closed and appearing to be a age much older then himself, "You-you were born here? That mean you were involved in the ARK accident?"

"It was no accident Claire…GUN came up and arrested as many of us as they could, who ever they couldn't arrest they killed, which included my best friend…I haven't been back here in years… brings up bad memories…."

"then why come? Why force yourself to come here-"

"Because…..this place…where we are going, its still my home. My FIRST home. I cant allow it to go into ruins…."

Claire looking back on Shadow realizing how painful this must be for him.. Sitting up slowly she put a hand on his shoulder, (which brought his attention to her) he looked at her slightly confused

"then isn't it a good thing I'm coming with you?" she smiled weakly, knowing she could never really offer Shadow anything he didn't have, but for this mission, she could offer strength.

Shadows' confused face slowly relaxed with realization. But he looked away, for a moment Claire thought she had said the wrong thing but then his hand reached up and gripped the hand on his shoulder gently, if only for a moment, before Shadow stood up and walked over to the window, his back to, "We'll be there in a few, take advantage fo the Healing Mask while you have the chance." his voice was slightly cold and professional.

Claire felt sadness settle over her, 'I did say the wrong thing….' "Yes sir…"

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The Dome-Ship locked onto the side of the Ancient Space Colony Ark. Shadow's heart beating heavily in his chest as he stood at attention, gun to the front. Claire stood beside him doing the same, but he could feel that she was sad. Maybe he shouldn't of been so cold towards her, she was just trying to help and , the fact of the matter was, her presence DID make him feel better about coming back. But right now he just wanted to get over with. There would be time to apologize later.

The red light above the door (indicating it was unsafe to travel outside the door) turned green (indicating safety) lump in his throat he pressed a key pad and the door slid open.

Last time Shadow had been to the ARK, it wasn't a picnic zone, but since then the ARK had fallen into a disrepair at "haunted" status. The hallway was dark and cold. Sending shivers down the spine. He could almost remember how warm it used to be, scientists walking by with papers, giving him a brief wave as he made his eway to the lab. There he'd he is surrogate father (Gerald) working away, excited at some new break trhough he had just made with child-like eagerness. And then there would be footsteps after him, someone calling his name, "Good Morning Shadow-san!"

"Shadow?"

Shadow snapped out of his trip down memory lane. He could already feel his heart being weighed down with emotion as he took a deep breath, "I'm fine. Lets just go." he walked forward a few steps when there was a giant flash of light. By instinct he shoved Claire back but not before something shot out and dug into his neck. Crying out he pulled it off and threw it aside ,but his body was suddenly dizzy and imprecise his mind clouding over as thoughts and memories began to collide with one another.

He could barely hear Claire call out to him, and barely felt her hand on his shoulder, shaking him pleadingly ,unable to make out her words.

Shadow heard dark laughter ahead and raised his head slowly, ahead stood a black figure, shaped like a Chameleon. A figure he had never seen before, stumbling he fell against the wall, dropping his gun, he struggled to keep his thoughts straight, "Who the hell are you ?" he demanded

"Who am I? I have no name for I have no honor, but you may call me the Tracker. And THIS." he raised his hand, shadow could barely make out the stars he held, "IS the end for the both of you, and path to finding the Chaos Child."

Ok here you go , part two will be up sometime. Hope you enjoyed, review!

Hope you enjoyed, review!


	9. Shadows and Regrets 2

Shadow!' Claire cried out as Shadow fell on his knees, gasping in pain. She slid by him, holding him up, "shadow! What's going ! Snap out of it!" she shook him gently but it proved to no avail, "What's-"

"well this is surprising." came a voice from the shadows. Claire quickly grabbed her gun and spun around, not 4 feet from the drugged hedgehog and wolf-eared girl stood a black chameleon, a bit taller then most Mobians. His eyes were steel gray, his body covered in red scars. On his left hand lingered grey thin glove, but judging from the wires) Claire could tell they had some sort of mechanical nature. Claire kept one arm around Shadow and her gun on the black Chameleon, "Don't move! Under the GUN Alliance you are under arrest!"

The Chameleon laughed coldly, seeming amused, "Mephiles told me that it would be just Shadow up here, I had no idea they would send a Mutated monster with them as well." hey bowed mockingly ,"MY name is none, but I am known as the Tracker."

'Tracker?' Claire was getting a bad feeling from him. But her first priority was to help Shadow, and THAT meant getting away from the Tracker. Pulling Shadow closer she moved to her knees in squatting position, gun always aimed at the Trackers amused eyes, "What the hell do you want from us?" she demanded

"What do I want?" this concept must of amused him further for he simply threw his head back, cold laughter filling the empty halls of the ARK. Claire could feel the hairs on her neck rise slightly

" I want nothing. I am simply a servant. But if you mean what does MEPHILES want," he walked towards them slowly, his fingers toying with his ninja stars. Claire stood up and backed away slowly, her arm around Shadows chest and away from the Tracker , "MEPHILES wants the Chaos Child, to find him, we need the assistance of the Ultimate Weapon-"j

"Me-Mephiles." came from Shadow, barely a whisper.

Claire gave him a quick look, then looked back on the Tracker, "Yeah well, too bad, you're not getting him.'

"Oh sweet Monster, what makes YOU think you can stop me?" the Tracker took another step

Claire threw her gun up into eh air, grabbing a grenade from her vest and threw it into the ground smoke bursting into the air,

Through the mist shot two starts, one collided with the gun into the gun , destroying it, and the other with the Dome-Ship, causing a huge explosion . Instantly Claire grabbed her space-switch and Shadows, a helmet form over their heads. All of a sudden Claire found herself being yanked forward, by the vacuum of space, quickly she grabbed the wall, holding on tightly to Shadow, over her shoulder she could see the Tracker on the other side of the vacuum hole that was now trying to yank them both into space and there fore oblivion. The tracker looked over at Claire, kunai in his hands he stabbed the wall with one, and pulled himself over with the other one. To Claire's horror's eh realized he was trying to get over to them.

Claire grabbed a hook and rope function on her vest, and wrapped it around Shadow, which would bound him to her chest, and with her now free hand, gripped the wall, pulling herself over to solid ground the best she could. Gripping a outputting piece of metal she looked over the walls. "where is it?" she asked herself frantically, then saw the red button and quickly pressed it.

Immediately a wall slammed down between them and the vacuum of space and (more importantly) the Tracker. But Claire didn't' take long in her victory for she knew it wouldn't last long. Deactivating the space function on their gear, Claire ran as fast as she could. She needed to get Shadow as far away from the Tracker as possible, there was no way in hell she'd let Shadow be taken by a monster like him. She looked down on the twitching hedgehog in her arms, "Its' going to be ok …" she assured him and ,mostly, herself.

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_"Where…..am I….." Shadow's body felt cold and heavy. Almost as though he were literally nothing. He couldn't' even open his eyes. But he knew he was alone, there was nothing touching his skin. No noise….what was going on? "Claire?" he called, but there was no response, what had happened? Suddenly he felt something warmth consumes him, warm healing waters. Tubes attached to his veins and a steady heart monitor just outside of his confinement. But where was he? Weakly he opened his eyes. To his shock, there were scientists all around his confinement (some sort of stasis tube). All taking no notice of him, checking on the numerous computers that lined the walls. "ARK." the word formed in his mind, he was on the ARK but this was impossible, it had been a desolate vessel just a few moments ago. Before the venom, what did it do to him? Just by the tank he saw a stout man walk closer to one of the computers by his confinement. Immediately , just by the bald head and over grown gray mustache alone, shadow knew who he was, "Professor Gerald.-" a smaller form came closer and Shadow felt his heart stop._

_the girl walking towards the window...dressed in blue, her hair was blonde and her face almost angel like..._

_"Grandfather! He opened his eyes, did you see?"_

_"Yes I did Maria."_

_"He looked at me! Is he arriving today?"_

_'Arriving?' Shadow wondered, 'where was I arriving to? How am I remembering all this-'_

_But the professor nodded, "yes, today's the day." he looked over and nodded at one of the scientist._

_Suddenly there was a faint red pulsing light. The liquid that had filled Shadows tube was now pouring out, and the glass opened, a blinding light filled his eyes and he fell forward on his knees, the coldness striking him immediately and he began to shake. Scientist ran forward, pulling the various wires off of him. Taking very little care to see he was in pain. His teeth chattered uncontrollably, 'who….where…' but couldn't form the words with his mouth. There was a clacking of heels and Maria knelt down in front of him , her face concerned, "Oh my, he's' freezing." quickly she grabbed a blanket from a first aid kit, and wrapped it around his shaking form, arms over him, a action that confused him, but was grateful for the warmth and leaned against her slightly._

_He saw Gerald kneel by the two, "How do you feel son?"_

_Son? But his mouth formed words, "I…..I'm..." why was it so hard for him to say the simplest thing?_

_Maria must of noticed this too, for she turned to Gerald, arms still around Shadow, "Is he ok Grandfather?"_

_"He's perfectly fine, he may have been taught skills while inside of the Stasis Chamber, but he's never had the chance to use them before. It'll take some time before he can function like you and I can. But yes he's fine, probably hungry though, can you go and take him to the kitchen?"_

_The Professors grand daughter nodded, before looking down on the confused hedgehog, arms around him still, "Can you stand?"_

_The warmth of her voice encouraged him, nodded, his legs brought him into a standing position, but still not willing to let go of the warmth of the blanket (or the girl) just yet. Maria smiled, as though understanding (which was good because at the time Shadow had no freaking idea what was going on) gently she guided him out of the room and into the hallways, which was now lit and bright, hurting Shadows sensitive eyes, "Light." he growled then felt something go over his eyes, opening his eyes his vision was obscured by shaded lenses, looking over at Maria he felt confused, "what are-"_

_"They are sunglasses; there for you until you get used to the bright lights." she guided him gently down the hall, "Did they give you a name?"_

_"Name?"_

_"In the Psycho-lessons in the tube, did they give you a name?" she pointed to herself, "I'm Maria."_

_"I…..don't have a name…"_

_"That's horrible!" Maria looked disappointed then her face lit up again, "Can I name you?"_

_Liking the look on her face he nodded, which made her smile even more, "OK, um…." she thought hard, "How about Gerald Jr? After my Grandfather?"_

_This made Shadow growl in displeasure, not knowing how to verbally convey his dislike for this name_

_"Ok, how about Eugene?"_

_Another growl_

_"Well you're a hard one to please, um…..Everest? Or Terios?" when shadow growled, Maria gave a exaggerated sigh, then looked at him, "Maybe…you're kind of dark…..and you were made from light…..how about Shadow?"_

_This name brought a satisfying feeling through his chest, which spread to his lips. Maria gasped, 'You're smiling! You like the name! Very well1" her arms once again developed him in a warm hug,"Welcome to Space Colony ARK Shadow the Hedgehog!"_

_Shadow felt a warm feeling spread through him, a unknown unnamed feeling, but he liked it_

_Shadow the Hedgehog_

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Claire felt relief as a MED center door came into view, "thank goodness." she quickly opened the door and ran in, laying Shadow down (who had long ago stopped twitching) before scouring the cabinets, there had to be something to get the drug out of him. Seeing a IV drip she pulled it out and hung it on a hook by Shadows bed. Testing the needle she carefully inserted it into Shadows arm

. There was a groan and, to Claries relief, Shadow opened his eyes slightly, looking at her confused, "Claire?"

"Hey big Guy." she smiled weakly, knowing they were safe for the moment she sat down by him, taking his hand,' How do you feel?"

"Weak….cold…"

"Are you in pain?"

"No much….the IV is helping….what….what did he inject me with?"

"I don't know…..is it doing something?"

"I….I'm seeing…I saw my birth…upon the ARK…I …..I saw….Maria…." he suddenly cringed in pain as the drug fought to take over his mind again, "da-dam…where's…..the black chameleon? What does he want/?"

"He said something about Mephiles, how they were after the Chaos Child, that the answers were in your memories."

Shadow felt his blood run cold, "Mephiles…..Chaos….child…." eh closed his eyes as sadness swept over him' NO…not now…."

"Shadow, please tell me what's going on, I can't help unless you let me….what's going on?"

"Mephiles the Dark….is a enemy I made a few years back….I thought he was still after the Solaris project….why would he want Sari…"

"Sari? What are you talking about?"

Shadow closed his eyes again, hand gripping hers tightly it was time she knew "Sari…was created from a Chaos Emerald….by Dr. Eggman and Remus Young…."

"Remus! Shadow that cant' be-"

"But it is, but after Sari was born he ran away with the baby….raised her until Eggman killed him while trying to find her…and now….he's working with Mephiles…." his hand in Claire's started to shake, "And now they're' going to find out where she is through my memories….they'll see that she's with me…and they'll take her." the thought sent dread through him, eh couldn't loose Sari….his precious child…..his daughter….but he couldn't risk Claire's life….,"Run…get off the ARK, I can fight his power…." he felt something press against his forehead gently

"Rule #1 of GUN, you never leave a Brother of Arms behind." she smiled at him gently. Shadow felt the same warmth he had around Maria fill his chest again. He reached for the IV, but her hand caught his, "what are-"

"WE have to keep moving….I can fight off the worst of the drug….but you can't' be carrying me…."

"But the hallucinations-"

"Just hold my hand and pull me in the right directions, I'll be fine." he offered a weak smile as he sat up. Claire's eyes filled with tears and, before Shadow knew it, hugged him tightly around the neck, "I promise you're not going to loose Sari…I swear it on my life and honor." then she drew away, grabbing his hand. "You ready?"

Shadow nodded.

Claire heaved her guns around her neck and walked to the door, opening it, she looked from left to right, "Coast is clear. " dragging Shadow behind her ,she walked out into the hallway. As a sniper she was highly intone to the smallest sounds, but never before had she had to use her skills against a ninja of the Ninja Clan before. She glanced back on Shadow; already his face was pained and strained. Struggling between reality and the hallucinations. Claire felt helpless, not knowing what to do, but gave his hand a faint squeeze, to show she was still here. Shadow gave her a small smile before his eyelids fell, succumbing to the hallucinations, but still standing like he promised. Walking almost as though it was only his will driving him forward. It pained Claire to see him like this, tears in her eyes, after all he had done for her she couldn't' even keep him sane…

There was the faint Scarping of metal and Claire threw Shadow to the ground, falling onto off him as the lights above them exploded into harmful glass. The glass fell against her armor, and, looking down on Shadow was relieved to see he was unharmed

"I thought it was against GUN protocol to show emotion during a mission?"

Claire quickly stood up, pulling shadow behind her, the Tracker was just in front of them, the Tracker not loosing his twisted smile, "You're making this very exciting, Monster, " he took a step towards them, (which earned a back up from Claire, keeping herself between him and Shadow) ,"I always love seeking missions, assassins are fun, but nothing compares to chasing a young woman. It should be illegal to have this much fun"

Claire back up a few more feet, swinging a gun o her front, a favored shot-gun, she cocked it then put it to shooting position," You and me both bogeyman."

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_'Dam…." Shadow though to himself as the feeling of nothing came back, "I don't have time for this…" a part of him just wanted to snap out of this, the memories being too painful to the brink of agonizing, but…then again he just waned to see Maria again, to relive the smallest memories…_

_He was suddenly in the Space Colony ARK hallway, he looked side to side, the scientists walking past and waving, after all he was one of them. A citizen aboard the ARK not a stranger or murderer, he was just Shadow…._

_Suddenly arm hugged him from behind, the sudden weight making him tip forward slightly almost falling," dam-dam!" eh looked back only to be rewarded , with a kiss on a cheek the person released him and ran in front of him, Maria smiled mischievously, "Got you!"_

_"Maria! Bleh1" he started to rub off the spot she had kissed him with the back of his hand," I hate it when you spread germs."_

_"Its not spreading germs, it's a kiss. Family members do it all the time."_

_"Well we're not technically family."_

_Maria just smiled, "Well, you're part of MY family.' then she leapt back a few feet, "Come on Shadow! I'll race you to the kitchen! There's a fresh cup of coffee with our name on it!" then ran off,_

_Shadow grinned, giving Maria a few feet before running after her (at a much slower pace). He followed as she made various turns deeper into the ARK (after all, no one knew the ARK better then her). But this time, she kept going, glancing back on Shadow every once in a while to make sure was following, Shadow began to feel very unnerved, he had never been in this part either "Maria we shouldn't-"_

_She disappeared behind d door, followed by a horrific scream._

_"MARIA!' Shadow ran into the room, the huge dome like area was filled with bright lights and numerous scientists running around, the source of the problem was a huge red lizard, a flashing o flight indicated that the 'Light Chamber' (that had probably housed it) had failed, the deranged beast threw its head back, roaring and stomping in its spot before walking forward._

_Shadow looked around quickly to see Maria on the ground, propped up by her elbows and her face full of horror as the monster leapt at her._

_Shadow, by instinct, leapt forward, waving his arm in a huge arc, a move he had just recently learned, "CHAOS SPEAR!' bright lights shot out of his hand and slammed into the monster, making it stumble back a few feet. Shadow got in front of Maria, determined to fight to the death, "CHAOS SPEAR!" he shouted again, the spears forcing the monster back further. Suddenly the flashing lights became solid and encased the monster, who roared in frustration, trying to break free._

_Now sure the Monster was secure Shadow ran back and knelt by Maria, who was still in shock, "Maria? Are you ok-" eh hugged her trying to get a response, "Come on Maria-"_

_"Maria? Shadow?"_

_Looking up, but not letting go of Maria, Shadow raised his head to see Gerald just by them, his face concerned, "What are you two doing here?"_

_"I could ask the same of THAT thing." Shadow nodded to the red monsters," what the HELL is that thing and why is it here?"_

_"Language Shadow, this is the Bio-lizard….it was the first experiment to find immortality, but it failed."_

_"This is why you worked on Project Shadow."_

_"Correct." Gerald knelt down touching his granddaughters pale face, "Please get her to the med-bay, and too much excitement is bad for her."_

_Shadow nodded, taking Maria into his arms and carried her down the hall, her arms tight around his neck as she shook. For a while there was nothing to be said, when he laid her down on a med bay though, and he tried to walk away (not wanting to be in the way of the various nurses and doctors now hooking her up to machines) her hand gripped his, her face sad, "Please don't leave…."_

_Shadow smiled gently, sitting by her bed, squeezing her hand and nodding, but it couldn't cover his thoughts. Bio-lizard was a failed experiment, locked up because it was too dangerous. But Shadow was no different from it. He knew Gerald got letters everyday about how Project Shadow was 'too dangerous'. the ones who knew about him down on Mobius all deemed him a monster, so how long would it be before HE was locked up like a beast….he closed his eyes in despair but felt a hand cup his face gently. Opening his eyes, he saw Maria looking up at him, her eyes sad but seeming to understand what was on his mind. "Shadow… you…could never be a monster…."_

_Shadow gave a weak laugh, pressing his hand over hers, "And just how do you know that? The Bio-lizard and I were both made from the same cloth…."_

_"That's not true…besides…." Maria sat up taking his face in her hands, "someone as warm and kind as you could never be a monster….."_

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Claire flew back as the ninja star blew up just by her feet, Shadow fell a few feet from her, still trapped in his hallucinations. Claire threw Shadow back further before leaping to her feet and raising her gun, shooting rapidly at the incoming Chameleon, who (in his ninja way) quickly by stepped all the bullets of the AK47 leaping at her and kicking the gun at her, the barrel OF The gun flew into her face and shattered her glasses, making her stumble back, yanking off her ruined sunglasses she saw the Tracker walking towards Shadow, "NO!" she leapt forward tackling the Tracker to the floor and twisting his arm up his back, "Leave him alone!"

"Very well." the Tracker threw his head back and slammed it into Claire's face, she cried out stumbling to her feet and hand to her bruised face. Before she could react the Tracker was on her, sending 10 punishing punches into her chest and kicking to the floor, at first Claire laid there coughing up blood then saw the Tracker; he raised his hand towards Shadow the mechanical glove started to glow green.

Immediately Claire ran forward and rammed her body into the Trackers, sending him flying back down the hallway.. Not waiting for him to land, she reached into her vest and pulled out 2 grenades and pulled out the rings, throwing them down the hallway before throwing herself over Shadow.

The grenades went off immediately, sending a powerful blast in all direction, projecting the two feuding teams away from each other. Without waiting Claire grabbed Shadow and started running down the hallway, her heart pounding in her throat, she needed to get the Tracker off the ARK.

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_Shadow sat at the observation window, the Mobius just below him. Even though he had seen Mobius in simulated images, they certainly not the same. It wasn't' he didn't like the ARK, it was home to him, but it was small and cramped. He had regulations on his running, he had 'quiet hours' it seemed too much like a Mobius nursing home then a REAL home. Then again Maria had never been to Mobius either, having been taken to live on the ARK when her mother was in labor (both of her parents's dying soon after arriving)._

_"Hey Shadow!"_

_Turning his head, he saw Maria walking towards him, two cups of coffee in her hands and a smile on her face, "Starring at Mobius Again?"_

_"yeah." slightly embarrassed he took the cup,_

_"Its alright." she looked towards the window, then to Shadow again," Grandfather said a while ago, if I start getting healthier and if I behave I can go to Mobius someday with you." she smiled, "Wouldn't that be amazing?"_

_Shadow smiled, he knew of this deal , which is was Maria had been eager to get to all her treatments on times, and keeping to all rules to a T. he knew going to Mobius was as important to her as it was to him., he noticed the book in her hands, and read the title out loud , "the Hobbit? You know, I never took you for the mid-evil loving type. Don't normal girls like romance novels?_

_Maria laughed brightly, "And how would you know what normal girl reads?_

_Well, she had him there._

_"This is the beginning to Lord of the Rings, its one of my favorite books"_

_"Why?" _

_"I don't know, I just love how it depicts how anyone can be a hero," she looked at him again, "You actually remind me of Legolas"_

_"The dwarf! He's not even in the Hobbit!"_

_"NO the elf."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because, Legolas is brave, beautiful, and wise. He really doesn't have that many speaking parts, but when he does speak it's normally important." she closed her eyes, the book to her chest, "To me he's a perfect depiction of a angel…."_

_These words made Shadow look away, but not with embarrassment, "Maria I'm not a angel…..I'm a weapon….."_

_"You were made to protect people Shadow…..if anything you're MY angel…."_

_Shadow raised his head, making eye contact with Maria, her face full of warmth and encouragement, once again brining a smile to his lips. Maybe he could be that someday….just for her…_

_The speakers came to life, "Maria Robotnik, please head on down to Professor Gerald's office, he has something to speak to you about.'_

_Maria's face lit up even more (if that was even possible) then looked at Shadow, "Maybe this is it!" she smiled, "We might be on Mobius before we know it!"_

_"Maybe.'_

_Maria stood up, handing him her cup,' You can drink mine, I know how much you love coffee." then gave him a kiss on the head before running off._

_Shadow watched her leave before turning back to look at the Mobius, maybe someday soon…. that's when his eye caught something on the table, it was Maria's ID card, without which she wouldn't be monitored (which she had to be at all times) quickly picking it up, he ran down the hallway. Following his memory to the door marked ,"Robotnik." he got ready to knock on the door but then he heard Robotnik_

_'"Maria I'm sorry, but right now it's impossible for you to go to Mobius-"_

_"But you promised Grandfather, you said if I went to my treatments we could both go to Mobius for a little bit." Maria's voice was heartbroken, and sad._

_"I know, but you're not getting better, if anything we're going to have to up your treatments-" _

_"What about Shadow? You promised him too. You have to let him go to Mobius-"_

_"The politicians down on Mobius are refusing to let him come, they see him sill as too dangerous."_

_"But Shadow isn't dangerous! He-"_

_"Maria we both know that, but he was made as originally a weapon. I know that, you know that and HE knows that. They're becoming less trusting of -"_

_The door shot open and Shadow leapt out of the way as Maria ran down the hallway. Without even bothering to look at the Professor he ran after her, "Maria!" he called, but she didn't stop. For a while Shadow lost sight of her, which made him frantic for a bit, till he realized the only place she'd go._

_Walking towards the stair-way, ( a feature barely used by the humans)he opened the door to see Maria sitting on the steps, knees to her chest and face in her arms. By her a window wrapped up the walls, for a view while walking down this normally abandoned hall. Shadow sat down by Maria, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and holding her gently, his heart full of sympathy,"Its going to be alright Maria..."_

_"You-You heard what Grandpa said?" her voice was thick with emotion, she raised he head for a moment to look at him, her eyes read and face tear-stained_

_Shadow nodded wiping the hair out of her face, "I did. You'll get better, and then they have to let you go to Mobius." _

_"that's not why I'm crying.' she quickly wiped her eyes, which confused Shadow_

_"Then what is it?"_

_Grandpa must have known I would not get better; I can forgive him for that. But he's not fighting for you Shadow, you….. You deserve a chance to go to Mobius Shadow."_

"_The Professor is doing his best; I can't hate humans for not wanting me on Mobius. I can'T change their minds….'" _

"_How can you say that? Of course you can!"_

_Shadow looked at her confused, "What do you mean-"_

"_You can prove them wrong, you can show them you're more then just a weapon, "her hand gripped his shoulder gently "nothing is set in stone._

_Shadow watched her for a moment, pondering this, maybe she was right. Maybe a day would come when he'd bee seen as more then a weapon…he smiled gently, "then one day you can get better Maria….so we can both go to Mobius."_

_Maria nodded, smiling, wiping her eyes, then rested her head against him, "Shadow?"_

"_Yes Maria?"_

"_Can we please sit here for a little bit longer? Please?"_

"_As you wish Maria…"_

_8888_

Claire threw her last grenade behind her before launching herself, and Shadow into the hangar, several antique ships lay in disarray, this is where they would of gone to be fixed. But that's not why she was here. She didn't need a vehicle, she needed a weapon. Claire ran forward and quickly set Shadow in one of the cars, his eyes still shut and his hands twitching every so often, indicating he was still in his hallucination. She offered a weak smile before running to the wall, looking over it, she HAD to find it NOW.

Suddenly something slammed into her injured leg, sending jabs of pain through her leg, screaming in pain she fell on her knees, warm blood already flowing from her wound. But she couldn't' focus on this, rolling over the Tracker slammed against her, hands over throat, "It ends NOW!" his face bloodied and scarred from all the grenades thrown at him, a deranged smile over his face and hands kept to her throat. Claire reached for her gun but the Tracker slapped it out f her hands and forced her on the ground. Claire grabbed his hands, trying to pry the iron-like grip off her throat, already faint lights were covering her vision as her oxygen was caught off, her body screaming for its life-source and her brain screaming for a solution. This was the end….

Suddenly something black and red slammed into the Tracker sending him flying off and into a car door with a painful crack.

At first Claire just laid there coughing, rolling onto her side, taking into the precious oxygen that had been deprived from her body. A hand fell on her shoulder and gently lifted her into sitting position against the wall. Claire, feeling weak, let her head fall forward before forcing her head up, looking at Shadows concerned face; she laughed weakly, "Have-have a nice nap?"

"It was a little rocky; someone kept dragging my body all over the place."

"You told me to. "She smiled

Shadow smiled back, but his heart ached at her beaten body, she had fought so hard to keep him safe, while he was struggling with the halogens….he gently brushed her hair out of her face, "You did good soldier. Get some rest while I take care of the trash."

"Yeah….after I softened him for you.'

Shadow smiled weakly then stood up, his face becoming cold mask. He strolled over to where he had thrown the Tracker, "Get up, I known that didn't kill you.'

After a sec, the Tracker rose from the car parts, his eye bleeding and his left arm limp at his side, but the smile never leaving his face, "So the great Ultimate Lifeform decides to step up to the plate? I'm honored."

"Why did you hurt Claire? Any Ninja Clan /chameleon would of avoided a bystander."

The Tracker laughed loudly, his head titling to the side as he took a few steps closer to Shadow "Well, she obviously wasn't a bystander; she kept getting in my way so I kept teaching her the error of her ways. After all." he pressed his face close to Shadows (who leaned away), "a maidens blood is so much softer then a mans-"

Rage Shot through Shadow like a shot of adrenaline, his fist shot out and grabbed the Trackers face, slamming it into the wall, "That's all I needed to know." he drew back a second fist.

The Tracker leapt forward, slamming his shoulder into Shadows, but Shadow took advantage of this momentum Shadow grabbed the Tracker and caught him in a headlock, arm tight around the Trackers throat. He chuckled darkly as the Chameleon struggled against Shadows freakish strength, "ON a normal day I would kick your ass to the moon and back, but I think we've all seen enough of you." he slammed a fist into the Trackers stomach, knocking out the ninja instantly. Grabbing him by the tail he started dragging the Tracker over to the wall, glancing at Claire he called, "Is this what you were looking for before?" pointing to a trash cute

"Yup Captain."

"Good, it's fitting for someone like him.'" Shadow dumped the Tracker into the trash compactor and pressed the button.

After a giant flash of light, and a sucking sound, the would be assassin was shot out into space, flying away from the ARK and further every moment.

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A few minutes later Shadow was kneeling by Claire, using some of the first aid kits to bandage up her cuts, guilt heavy on his heart, "I'm sorry you got hurt again Claire, I should of woken up sooner." he looked at her face to see her roll her eyes, "What's' that supposed to mean?" He demanded

"It means get over it. We get hurt on mission all the time, well I get hurt, you just use all your energy and collapse. I say next mission I take the nap and YOU fight off the assassin ninja from hell."

Shadow smirked slightly, even though he had been asleep for only a few hours he still missed her humor. Declaring himself finished he sat down by her, putting his hand on hers gently and rested his head against the back wall. For a while the two just sat there, reflecting on their latest mission and what it had revealed. Shadow looked at Claire for a moment; she now knew his most protected secret, Saris' true identity. How would she react to this….

"Hey Shadow?"

"Yeah?"

"This isn't over yet is it? That Mephiles guy is going to go get Tracker and he wont stop till he finds Sari will he?"

"No…." he braced for her response

There was a slight moan, and then Claire stretched her free arm," well, in that case we're going to need to safety up the house a little bit more, so if he does come around we'll be ready."

"Huh?" he looked at her confused, "You're not freaked out?"

"Oh please, if I can survive being your friend I think I can handle Mephiles with you. Besides.' she smiled at him,"You did make me Saris' Godmother, and what kind of Godmother would I be if I let anything happen to her?"

This reassurance sent warmth through Shadows chest again as eh gripped her hand tightly, "thank you….." but he couldn't ignore the weight on his chest, looking over at her he said, "Claire….before we go there's one last thing I need to do.'

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Shadow, allowing Claire to lean against him due to her re-injured leg, slowly made his way down the hall of the ARK, so many times in his past had he made this same trip. Before though, he did it just to be with the one he cared for the most, but now he was making it because he needed to , above all things.

Finally the door was right in font of him, due to the years gone by the metal was slightly worn, and there burn marks from the initial attack on the ARK. But despite all that he knew whose room this was.

It was Maria's room

"Shadow?" came Claire's concerned voice

"I don't know if I can go in there Claire…..it's been so long…." Shadow felt nothing but dread in his chest. He didn't know what prompt him to come here… maybe his desire for closure? He felt a hand slip into his gently, looking up he saw Claire looking at him, face sympathetic " And that's why I'm here'.

Eh smiled weakly, reaching out to the door he gently pushed it open. The room was almost barren, papers lay in disarray over the floor, from being ransacked by soldiers, there as nothing of Maria's left…but… he walked into the room slowly. He could still feel Maria here, her warmth. He could feel the warmth of every moment they spent there together, playing card games every night, listening to the radio. But sometimes they had just sat there….watching the Mobius roll by the window…planning for the day when they could go there together.

Suddenly Shadow felt a lightheaded feeling come over him, he stumbled back slightly, struggling to stand before he collapse, Claire cried out in surprise

"Shadow!"

_8888888_

_Shadow expected another cold memory, to be placed in another moment of his past that he barely remembered, but should of….but this time was different. He felt warm, happy. His head laid comfortably onto someone's lap, a hand on his face and a warm voice, "Its been so long Shadow….."_

_He smiled, "It has….Maria…."_

"_Why don't you open you're eyes? Aren't you happy to see me?"_

"_I am Maria, beyond words…but…" he felt emotion in his throat "I'm afraid if I open my eyes you'll disappear…."_

"_I promise not to, at least not yet….please look at me.'_

_Slowly shadow opened his eyes and , to his relief, Maria was still there, her face full of warmth. Shadow reached out slowly, feeling her soft face and felt a tear run down his face, "So this is real…did I die?"_

"_NO silly, I just wanted to make sure you were ok, you were in a lot of pain when you were looking at your memories….did you not like remembering them?"_

"_No….no Maria that's' not it at all….I just…." he closed his eyes again as they began to sting, "it's just so painful to look at the past…..see how life used to be…and realize that you can never be that way again. Realize I can never see you again…"_

"_But aren't you happy Shadow?"_

_He hesitated_

"_Go ahead; I want to hear what's happened to you since I last saw you, from you."_

_Shadow smiled, closing his eyes," I was put into stasis for 50 years, only to be awoken by Professor Gerald Robotniks grandson, Eggman….and…..I tried to destroy the world because I though that's' what you wanted." he felt guilt in his chest and anticipation for what she would say_

"_You were lost for only a few moments, you got right back on the path. Go on."_

"_I sacrificed myself to save the Mobius after that. I lost my memories and fell under the work of Dr. Eggman again…..till I discovered my real purpose and went to work for GUN and protect our planet….and then…." he paused_

"_Yes?"_

"_I met a man named Remus...a good friend and a….a brave man…when his village was attacked I took in a little girl….Sari….. I got a house…..just like we wanted to do….I met a human with __Genetic Mutation named Claire….she became my best friend…."_

_"I've seen them, they're' both beautiful girls, but then the Tracker came."_

"_Yeah…he says Mephiles is after my child now…and…."he choked slightly, "I can't let that happen…..I can't loose anyone else…" he felt Maria gently press her lips against his forehead, _

_"You're not Shadow…..because you're a Angel….you can help people now…" the light grew brighter, "I don't have much more time Shadow….I'm being called back….but you're on the right path Shadow…..don't stray from it…no matter how hard things gets…."_

"_I won't…." , driven by a unknown force, Shadow sat up and took Maria's face in his very genlty, and pressed his face against her cheek his lips giving it the kiss he wished he had given her so many years ago, "I Miss you so much Maria….so much…."_

"_I know, and I miss you too Shadow…but we will see each other again someday….in a better place…."_

_The light engulfed them both and Shadow felt himself return…._

_8888888888888_

"Shadow?"

The black hedgehog opened his eyes, he was lying on the floor, his head on Claries lap (who looked frantic), "what happened Shadow? You just passed out-"

"Nothing, I guess not al the drug wore off that's all." he smiled at her weakly, "you're laps kind of uncomfortable though."

Claire's eyes flared slightly, crossing her arms,' well excuse me for being concerned! You can lay your head in your OWN lap then!"

Laughing Shadow sat up but not before something caught his eye under the bed. Curious he reached forward, his hand brushing against something hard, like a book, drawing it out he recognized the shape and color immediately and his heart stopped for a moment, 'could it be…" he blew on the cover gently only to have his suspicions realized when the title became clear

_The Hobbit._

Shadow felt emotion rise in his chest for a moment before looking at Claire, "Let's…..lets go home….."

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Shadow opened the front door for Claire, tossing in the duffle bags he walled in, "Sari! We're home!"

There was a blur of black and blue as Sari rammed into Shadows stomach hugging him tightly, "Daddy! I missed you! What took so long?"

"It's a long story kid…" he gently ruffled her hair, just happy to be home. He watched Claire walk in, a cane for support, "Do you want to lay down Claire? "Wanting to spare her leg. But she simply looked back on him with a smirk,

"Oh please, I'm going to go cook dinner. THEN I'm cleaning my guns.'

Shadow laughed weakly then felt Sari tug at something in his hands, "Daddy? What book is this?"

Looking down, he saw she was tugging at Maria's' "The Hobbit." and smiled, "Is it a good book?"

"It's a VERY good book."

"Will you read it to me?"

"I'm a little drained kid. "But when he saw the look of disappointment on his face he quickly reconsidered," So why don't you read it to me? You're the one that needs practice."

Saris' face instantly lit up.

Claire watched from the kitchen as Shadow sat down in his char with Sari in his arms, the book laid out in her lap as she began to read out loud:

"Chapter 1

_An Unexpected Party _

_In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort…"_

omg that was the longest 9 hours of my life, 15 pages...ughhhhh why did it take so long!

HOpe you enjoyed, hopefully we cccan put in some light humor again. I miss laughing


	10. Needles and Icecream

Ok, this chapter is a little bit different from the others, it's a bit more random. But I had fun with it and I hope you do to! Too much seriousness makes me crazy and ends up with word vomit.

Much like this chapter!

Shadow gave a giant moan walking down the stairs of his house, he could already smell breakfast being cooked and the revitalizing smell of coffee. Walking into the kitchen haze asleep he ,patted Sari (who was eating pancakes at the table) on the head, "Morning kid." he mumbled then poked Claire ( who was at the stove) ,'Coffee…Now."

"Well good morning to you too." but handed him off a quart sized cup of coffee.

Mumbling his thanks he went and sat at the table pulling newspaper open, "hmm…looks like allergy season is coming quicker this year. "he glanced over at Sari, "So be sure to keep your inhaler filled at all times, ok?"

"Yes sir."

"And Claire….quit using so much water in the coffee!"

"Hell no. SIR."

Shadow rolled his eyes, "Why can't you be more like Sari."

"Because, that would be just weird

Shadow rolled his eyes again (but had to admit her logic was sound) and pulled the newspaper back up. He heard Claire sit down, and slid over her own cup. He was reading a article on the Brotherhood Festival when he heard a small sneeze, he ignored it at first when he heard another one. Quickly looking over, he looked at Sari, who just kept eating her food. His eyes looked over to look at Claire, who just looked back, eating eggs, "What?"

"Bless you." then went back to his paper when he heard another sneeze. He slammed his paper down, "Dang it do you have something stuck up your nose?"

"NO. Its just allergies, you just said they were coming in sooner then normal."

"Allergies…." then Shadow felt horrified. Allergies meant coughing and sneezing, coughing and sneezing meant germs, and with a small slightly sickly (or his definition of small) child in the house it would only be a matter of time before SHE got sick! But maybe he shouldn't worry, after all it wasn't' like Claire had a fever or anything. He picked up his newspaper to read again, but then slowly reached out and poked Claire's face withdrawing his hand immediately," You're burning up!"

"well duh, its 80 degrees outside and I've been at the stove all morning-"

"You're so full of it! You're sick!"

"don't be stupid, I just told you I have alert-"

Shadow leapt around the table and picked up Sari quickly teleporting away to the Chaotix house and knocking on the door rapidly. Sari looked up at her father confused, "Daddy? Are you having another freak out?"

"No kid, I just thought it would be nice for you to spend the day at Mighty's house."

"While you have your freak-out.

"Yes…yes….."

Finally the door opened to reveal Espio, who looked shocked to see the tow standing there, "Shadow ,I thought Mighty was going over to your house today-"

"NO time, Claries dying."

"Claire's what-'

"Here." Hands Sari, "I'll be back as soon as I cure Claire." he ruffled Sari's hair, "Be good." then teleported away.

Espio just stood there for a while, not sure what just happened. Then looked down on the equally confused girl and smiled setting her on her feet, "Mighty is in his room if you want to go see him."

Sari, face lighting up, running up the stairs. When she was out of sight Espio sighed, he hated Shadow's freak-outs, which seemed to come more frequently as time passed. But it didn't take long to realize what caused these things, it seemed that when ever he thought Sari was in danger of something he couldn't prevent he would get her to safely (9/10 this was Espio) and go back to fight the threat. And it seemed, this time, it was Claire's 'disease'. HE sighed again, he had been hoping to use today to catch up on paperwork or meditation and, with Vector and Charmy at the Brotherhood Festival with Knuckles and Julie-Su there would be no way for him to ask them for help-

He paused, "Brotherhood Festival" an idea hit him.

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Claire was standing arms crossed (breakfast ruined) when Shadow teleported back," Shadow the hell were you thinking? Breakfast was fine until you freaked-" then noticed that Shadow had brought a suspiciously large bag with him and was now rummaging through it, "Um Shadow-"

"You have allergies, allergies spread germs, and get little girls SICK."

"Its not like I'm going to sneeze on Sari-"

Shadow turned to face her, a holster lined with needles on his arm, "the point is, it's a haphazard, and until we get rid of it you're under house arrest."

"House arrest? Shadow-" then noticed all the needles with a uneasy glance, "Shadow, wha-what's with all the needles?"

"Well, on the ARK we would inject the infected with their disease to prevent it from spreading, this is the same thought. Only ,since the cold is a incurable disease, I'm going to inject you with possible cures created by the Brotherhood."

"And they just let you take them?" she started to back away, putting furniture in between herself and the crazed hedgehog,

"Well, Spectre tried to stop me, and 'm not sure what all these are, at one point the needles with diseases and the ones with potential cures got scrambld up." he looked at the needles he held slightly in each hand, as though rethinking his tactic then flipped them in the air; battle ready, "We're just going to have to stick you with all of them until your allergies go away!'

"what? Shadow have you lost your mind? That'll kill me!"

"OR it'll make you so you're immune system can take every disease! That'll keep Sari from getting sick!"

"Shadow it doesn't work like-" then something shot through the air, making her fall back in reflex, the needle imbedding itself in the wall behind her, "Dam it Shadow! You're going to kill me if you do that!"

"Quite the opposite actually! Now quit being a child and take the needles filled with horrific diseases!"

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Espio was relieved when the doorbell finally rang. He had spent the better part of the afternoon trying to call numerous friends in his phonebook, but it seemed like everyone was busy; he had even tried to call his favorite Japanese take-out restaurant (they were asking for too much money). But that's when the last man his, last hope, picked up and agreed to take the two kids to the fair. Espio rested his hand on the door knob, "please don't let Shadow find out about this." he prayed slightly then opened the door.

Sonic stood in the doorway, his face beaming as always, "Hey Espy, I'm ready to take the kids to the Brotherhood Fair!" his voice could barely contain his excitement, "Sally's sick so now I have someone to go with! And now I have a reason to ride the kiddies rides!" he laughed then called, "Sari! Mighty! I'm here!"

"Take it easy Sonic, remember, Shadow doesn't know I'm letting you do this, so for the sake of both of us ,_don't let Sari get so much as a hair out of place. _Be careful with Mighty too.'

"OF course!"

Sari and Mighty walked down the stairs, smiling instantly at the Sight of the Blue Blur, "Sonic!" the tiny girl and ran over and hugged him around the stomach, "You're taking us to the Brotherhood Carnival? Thank you!"

"Don't mention it kid!" he smiled and held a hand out for both of them, "NOW, don't let go of my hands unless I say so ok?"

Espio simply sighed in relief as Sonic and the two children left. Things were right with the world, but his mind lingered over to Shadow and Claire, jus were they doing? He crossed his arms, it wasn't any of his business, but he hoped that they weren't goofing off, (which was unlikely seeing as it was SHADOW). He walked over to do paper work, "Besides, its not like they're enemies."

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Shadow slammed Claire against the wall, drawing out the needle, "TAKE IT DAMMIT !" suddenly a foot shot out and caught him in the chest, sending him flying back,

Claire struggled to her feet, "go stick yourself!"

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The carnival was in full swing by the time the small group arrive, the whole idea of a Festival for the Brotherhood was set up just 2 years back. As the name indicated, the festival was set up by the Brotherhood as a way to give back to the community and give themselves a chance to leave haven for a few hours (Well, ONE of them had to stay behind, after all, who else was going to watch over the Master Emerald?). The Ferris wheel stood high above the other attractions, which went as far as the eye could see. You wanted it, they had it.

Sonic smiled at the amazed children's faces, "See? Knuckles Grandfathers really know how to throw a festival."

"its so pretty! How can they afford it all?" asked the small girl as they started walking into the crowd

"Well, the Brotherhood of Guardians goes a long way back, they're a very important family. And , I guess since they don't have a houses or anything else, they made a lot of money over time."

"how do you kwon so much about it?"

"Because you're uncle Knucky cant' stop bragging about his family."

"oh! Can I call him Uncle Knucky?"

"Of course!" sonic grinned, whether it was because of his natural laid back nature, he loved kids. And they loved him just as much. Actually, he was still shocked that Sari was still so childlike ( he could of sworn Shadow would of sucked the cute right out of her). He noticed a ice-cream stand and walked right up to it, getting 1 large chocolate cone for himself and 2 small vanilla cones for the two kids with sprinkles. He laughed as they dug into the ice-cream with innocent greediness, he looked over the area at all the happy families and it reminded him of a thought that had been bugging him for a while, he put a hand on Sari's head, "hey kiddo, can I ask you a question about your Pa?"

"About Daddy?" Sari stopped devouring her cone for a moment ,"yeah!"

"What's he like at your home? You know, around you and Claire?"

"What do you mean, Uncle Sonic?"

"Does he treat you ok? And Claire?"

"Oh yes! Daddy is the best! He never cusses in front of me, he never lies, he makes sure I take my breathing treatments everyday, he makes sure I'm warm when I go to bed, and always makes me eat my veggies every meal! He's very sanitary and cuts the grass every weekend , even though he hates the lawnmower. Every night he reads me a story or lets me read one. He's letting me read "the Hobbit" right now. And he gives me lots of hugs!"

"Hugs!" Sonic felt a little laugh threaten to come over him, he couldn't imagine Shadow being THAT fatherly, he wanted so badly to teleport to Shadow right now and rub it in his face, but it would probably end up with Sonic in a early grave. He thought for a moment," Wait, what about Claire? How's she fitting in?"

"Mommy is awesome! She does everything Daddy does, and when I have hard question, like where do babies come from, I can always ask them because Daddy is allergic to questions like that. She's teaching me how to play the violin!"

"Violin?"

"Daddy said the only way I could play Peewee Hockey was if I joined Peewee band. So Claire offered to teach me, she and Daddy get along great! They only argue outside, they love to play cards together and watch old horror movies after I'm tucked in."

Sonic smiled, maybe he didn't have to worry so much, he felt a little guilty after being so suspicious of Shadow. He should of known he would be a good father and great friend-Sonic suddenly choked on his cone as a word came back to him," Mommy?" he looked at Sari with a horrified look on his face, "you call Claire mommy?" what the heck did he miss?

"Yeah."

"Why are you calling Claire, Mommy?"

"Because she is Mommy. She acts like a Mommy, and loves me like a Mommy. She's my Mommy, even though I don't call it to her face, Daddy and Mommy get upset when I call her that."

Sonic sighed relieved, fearing a horrible Elise complex but should of known better then that too, "so what do you call Claire?"

"Aunty Claire.'

Even better, he looked over and saw the kiddies' rides, there was no need to worry after all. What ever , he hoped those two were having fun , no matter what they were doing.

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With a final kick Shadow went flying out the window, leaving a panting and very sore Claire standing in the demolished living room, "Take…that…." she reached onto eh ground and picked up a few needles that had fallen when she and Shadow had been fighting, and leapt after him.

Shadow stood up, wiping the blood off his lip MURDER in his eyes, "Take. The. Dam. NEEDLE!" he leapt at her, spinning at high speed and launching himself at her with the strength of a rocket.

Claire leapt back, and put her hands up, the spin contacting with her hands, the force forcing her back, her arms shaking under the pressure, "Dam it Shadow just list-"

Shadow threw himself into the ground, positioning his feet and leapt up, spinning again but this time, forcing them both into the sky, the two flying up high into the sky, the wind whipping past their ears as they flew higher and higher, until they broke through the clouds, shadow broke out of his spin, grabbing Claire by the throat with one hand and the last needle with his free hand, "TAKE THE DAMM NEEDLE!" he started bringing it down on her shoulder but Claries hand shot up and grabbed his stabbing hand and the other grabbing his own throat, "TAKE YOUR OWN!"

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Espio leaned back in his seat relieved, finally that all his paperwork was done, the house was clean, (for the time being)and the fridge was full, (once again, for now). He took a sip of his soothing tea when a thought bugged him, What had Shadow meant when he said 'cure Claire?' Was she really that sick? Well, now that he had time, he might as well go and check on the two, maybe offer to run down to the pharmacy or store for them. Reaching into his desk he pulled out a warp ring and tossed it to the side, thinking of the place he wanted it go, "Shadow's house."

As soon as the portal opened up Espio stepped through, "Claire? Shadow? You guys o-" he froze when he saw the devastating nature that was the living room, the couch was torn in half, the coffee table was so full of needles it looked like a dart board, the ceiling was full of body imprints, and a whole (that used to be a window) lead to a yard with even more destruction.

Espio felt frantic, what had happened here? He ran out the door, "Claire! Shadow! Where are you!" he suddenly heard a small , steadily growing sound and looked up, seeing two faint dots heading down towards the earth, "what the-"

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2 minutes later

"I said no needle!"

Shadow sighed, "hey Claire, are you as tired of this fight as I am?" ignoring the whipping wind around them and the fact they were descending and slowly gaining speed

"Actually yeah, it was fun, but lets give it a rest ok?"

"Good idea."

Claire smiled then her face became slightly worried, "Hey Shadow? Aren't we still falling?"

"Huh?" Shadow looked at the fast coming earth below them," OH Spit!" quickly he tossed the needle he had been carrying back into the air (where they had been flying upward towards) teleported to the earth and caught Claire in his arms, "that was close, you could of broken your neck."

"I'm not the one who was launching people into the air. Thanks though." she smiled then looked towards the house, "Wow we destroyed a lot."

"As long as the coffee maker is fine, I really don't care."

"Hey look!"

Shadow turned, still carrying Claire, turned around.

Espio was a few feet away, his eyes wide with shock and two shuriken out as though he had been under attack, stuttering uncontrollably "Wait…what-what?"

Shadow looked at Claire slighly aggravaed,"What the hells wrong with him?"

Claire, shrugged and stood up walking over slowly, "Espio? Esp? Are you ok-" she touched Espios' face but he didn't so much as twitch. She looked back on Shadow (who stood just behind her now, arms crossed and confused), "What's' wrong with him?"

"Maybe it's a ninja thing, I'm going back inside to see what we need to fix."

Claire looked back on the retreating hedgehog , back on Espio for a moment before running after him," Wait for-"

"WHAT THE HELL SI WRONG WITH YOU TWO!"

Shadow and Claire both jumped before turning around, Espio was now standing, Shuriken put away, but his face was clearly not happy.

"Esp? What's-"

"OH DON'T you "Esp" me. What's wrong with you two?"

Claire, looked back on Shadow , who looked just as confused as she was. Before turning to Espio (she saw Shadow stand by her), "I don't understand-"

"You two were throwing each other! THROWING EACHOTHER!" he pointed at Shadow, "YOU kneed her in the chest! A GIRL! AND YOU!" points at Claire, "KICKED SHADOW IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD!"

"Well, yeah , it was for kicking me in the chest."

"And there were NEEDLES-"

"I can explain that." Shadow jabbed a thumb in Claire's direction, "Her allergies were acting up, which made me freak-out. SO I went and grabbed about a thousand needles full of deadly diseases and cures in hopes of getting rid of them." he looked over at Claire, "But after a while neither of us could take this fight seriously so we just fought for fun, the needles added extra action. We were bored' he shrugged slightly, 'No big deal."

"NO BIG DEAL! YOU TWO COULD HAVE KILLED EACHTOERH-"

"NO, we never try to KILL each other-"

"YOU SPUN INTO CLAIRE SO HARD YOU TWO FLEW ABOVE THE CLOUDS!"

"Huh." Shadow looked at Claire again," I guess we did," he gave a slightly laugh, "It was pretty cool."

"I know right?" Clarie looked at the clouds , "I bet if we actually try we can go higher-"

Bu only made things worse as Espio stomped his foot angrily ,"THAT IS NOT THE POINT IN ANY SENSE OF THE WORD! WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU TWO! THIS ISNT' WHAT FRIENDS DO FOR FUN!"

"It's not?"

"NO!"

Shadow crossed his arms again, "Then what do friends do for fun, by your definition."

"I don't know, they play CHESS, they go to AMMUSEMENT PARKS, they watch MOVIES!"

"Oh we watch-"

"that doesn't mean go to a movie theatre showing the Exorcist and laugh so hard through the movie that you get kicked out."

"Oh, well that's boring otherwise. Is that what you do? Explains why you don't have any friends."

Espio face started to swell with anger, his color changing to red ready to burst at any moment (which Shadow was looking forward to) when Espio suddenly spun around and started stomping wildly, "Jigoku wa karera to nani ga machigatte iru watashi wa watashi no kotoba o mīn-jin no watashi no orokana banchi dea~tsu tari shita koto ga nai! To, atama no ushiro ni otagai o kikku shiyou toshite otagai no AT hari o nagete, ima de wa karera wa yoi nakamadearu ka no yō ni chatto shite iru! Sore wa kore ppo ~tsu chi mo seijōde wa nai yo! Karera wa nō ni sonshō o o mochidesu ka? "

As Espio continued to scream like a mad sumo wrestler, Shadow and Claire glances at each other for a moment before Shadow tugged on her shoulder, a indication for her to listen, "Either he's having a stroke, or he's screaming in Japanese."

"I think its Japanese, makes sense, he is a ninja. Do you know what he's saying?"

"Something about needles, kicking, buddies, and brain damage. He's speaking to angrily to pick up to much."

"Maybe we should stop him before he has a aneurism."

"I was thinking so too, except he's just getting on my nerves.'" walking over , Shadow stopped for a moment, looking at the sky for a moment then back at the stomping Espio, as though judging something. Then took Espio by the shoulders, from behind, and pulled him over to the left a few feet (Espio screaming ," baca baca baca baca baca baca baca!"). Before stepping away entirely he checked Espios location again before walking over the shed, disappearing for a moment and came out again with 2 lawn chairs. He set them down, handing Claire a old and rusty football helmet, "Sit down and put this on."

Claire, a bit confused, Sat down and pulled on the rusty helmet, she looked over at Shadow through the broken visor and then back at Espio (now screaming, "Kesshite subete no watashi no toshi de,")

Suddenly something shot down from the sky and smacked Espio right in the head, the sudden impact made him waver fro a moment, turning to face Claire and Shadow, his skin started changing colors uncontrollably from many designs, with a sicken hue in his now droopy eyes he pointed a shaky hand at them, "You…..you…Akuma….." then fell flat on his face, a needle ( the one Shadow had tossed into the sky when they had been falling) sticking out of the back of his head.

Shadow threw his hands into the air, "touchdown!"

But Claire screamed in shock,' Espio!" she quickly ran over and knelt down (tossing the football helmet aside) and rolled Espio over, his eyes were droopy and his tongue (which she could see from his agape mouth ) was also changing colors. Her head shot in the direction of Shadow urgently, "Why did you do that? You injected him!"

"Oh calm down, it was one of the cures, I counted off how many needles are left, 23 cure and 23 disease, so he should be-"

"Shadow." Claire pulled out a needle from her pocket, "THIS is the cure needle."

Shadow blinked, and walked over, as though to verify her statement. His eyes widen slightly at the proof,, "Oh crap." he pulled the needle out of Espios head, "So what did we-"

"NO not we, Y OU."

"WE inject him with.." he read the needle carefully, his eyes widening even more, "Uh oh."

"What! What?"

"Lets just get him to the Haven NOW."

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Few hours later

Shadow and Claire stood at the observation room, watching Espio in his new "isolation room" while his body was still waving new colors every second, he was sitting cross-legged in the center of his germ-free , self ventilating room. From the way he was completely still you would think he was meditating, but no. He just had a death like glare that was stuck on Claire and Shadow.

Claire, unlike Shadow, felt bad, "Mobian Bubonic Plague….out of all the needles we gave him the Black death." she looked over at Shadow, and his face was pretty much in the blank, but he simply shrugged, "He was the one who was yelling at us, that's what he gets. Its' not like he's going to die or anything, he'll just be in isolation for a while." he saw Claire disproving glare and sighed, "But we'll make this up to him later, I promise."

Claries face brightened up, feeling better, "But what could we possibly do to make up for giving him the Bubonic Plague?"

"He's a ninja, and we're with GUN, I'm sure we can think of SOMETHING."

Sorry about this being so random, I wanted to have fun with something and I did with this! I hope you at least got a chuckle out of it, if not I'm sorry.

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	11. Mighty's Bravery and Sari's Truth

So , with Espio still in containment, Mighty spent more and more time over at Shadow's house, to spend time with Sari (the two becoming inseparable in the last few days. Which didn't bother Shadow at all (seeing as Mighty and Claire were just kids). He enjoyed seeing the two playing their games outside. Which gave Shadow and Claire more time to watch their horror movies (everyone in a while going outside to see if they were ok).

Such was today, Shadow glanced from the Predators movie to the window, hearing Sari burst out laughing brought a smile to his lips, then glanced back over at Claire," Sound like they're having fun."

"I hope so, Sari starts school in a few days right?"

"Right."

"Any feelings behind that?"

"Saris' fine, she's excited to be around kids her own age, not just her old man all day-"

"NO I mean you."

Shadow glanced over, slightly confused ,"What do you mean?"

"You're little girl is going to school, aren't you nervous? You wont be able to be with her all the time."

"well, I guess" he shrugged, "But I think I taught her all the right things she needs to know , so far, she should be fine." then he glanced at Claire, "right?" as though he suddenly didn't have faith.

Claire, smiled, "Yeah she'll be fine."

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Mighty collapsed right on the grass, gasping for air, sitting up he saw Sari running after him, "Sari how come you run so fast?"

She shrugged sitting by him," I Don't know, it's always like that."

"WELL, its' no fun to play tag if you're so fast.'

"WELL it's also not fair if there's only two of us."

The two sat there a moment, racking their minds. Then Mighty got a bright look on his face, "Why don't we go to the base?"

Sari's face shared the brightness, of course!

A few weeks previous, Claire, with permission from Shadow, took the two kids into the forest and dug them out a small base to play games. Not so far as they couldn't run back (or get lost) if they could. It was their favorite place in the world. Sari ran over to the house, yelling into house, "Daddy! We're going to the base is that ok?"

"Yeah sure kiddo, be careful." he yelled back

Furthering excitement, Sari ran and grabbed Mighty's hand, the two setting off into the forest, the two friends were already thinking of the many adventures they could have while there, they could do anything! It was paradise.

As they hurried through the large leaves ( a path marked out by Claire). Just as they could see the large apple tree (which marked the base). Mighty suddenly pulled on Sari's hand, halting her run, "wait wait!"

Feeling frustrated, she turned to glare at him, "what? We're almost there-"

"Sari, LISTEN"

Sari sighed, but suddenly she hear it too. Voices, footsteps. The two crept forward, on their hands an knees and pulled back the leaves.

IN their sacred Base sat 2 snake Mobian boys, somewhere around the age of 13,their face covered in gauges, clothes torn and cans ,filled with something foul smelling, covered the ground. Mighty growled slightly, he wanted to kick them out, but he couldn't risk Sari. Scooting back, he grabbed her hand, whispering, "Come on, we need to hurry before-"

"Before what?" came a cold, sadistic voice.

The two children turned around, right behind them stood a tall 15 year old bear Mobian, his face, not covered in gauges, but his clothes just as torn. He smiled a yellow smiled, "Don't you know its rude to spy on people?"

Without a choice, the tall bear grabbed them both from under their arms and , his rough hands cutting their delicate skin drug them to the base, pointing to the log, "Sit."

Sari looked over at Mighty, hoping for some sort of encouragement, but Mighty could offer none except a smile, taking her hand they both sat down. The three boys stood in front of them, their arms cross and, for some reason a twisted smile on their faces.

The beat knelt down, "Hey there kiddies, what are you doing out here without your mommies and daddies?"

Mighty, gripped Saris' hand slightly, putting on a brave face, one of Espios many lessons had been 'Don't scared, especially in the face of the enemy.'"We came to play on our base, but you were here so we decided to leave."

"Aw, poor kiddies, " the Bear looked back on the two snakes, '"Hear that? We were in their base, isn't' that sad?" he turned back to the base, "Let me tell you what, why don't we share? You share you're BASE. And we'll share our drinks" holding up one of his cans, to them, Mighty could smell a bitter acidic smell wafted from it , knowing immediately what it was,

"NO I don't want any. We're not aloud to drink."

"Oh? Who says?"

"Our Guardians.'

"Oh your GUARDIANS." laughing loudly he spread his arms out, "Look around! Is there anyone here to stop you? Is you Mommy and Daddy here now? Are they watching?" he asked teasingly, face in Saris'

"no…"

"So there's no one to stop you."

"They trust us-"

But the boy laughed even louder, this time he stumbled back into the two snakes, (them both falling over). The bear pulled himself to his feet again, the alcohol kicking in and walk back over, grabbing Mighty by the front, "TRUST?" he breathed the acidic decay in the boys face,' What do you know about trust? Because we know about you , and you friends in the Chaotic, and from what we heard, Espio betrayed the Chaotic. Isn't that right?" he tilted his head to the side mockingly, "Or did a brave man like yourself not hear about it/"

Mighty growled, he knew aright, it had not even been that long ago," MY master is NOT a traitor, he was loyal to his bloodlines and did what was right!"

Instead of influencing the teens, as he had been hoping, they threw their heads back, laughing so hard that the bear released Mighty , making him fall on his knees. Sari went tot his side,' Mighty are you o-" suddenly she cried out as she was yanked away, bringing Mighty back to his feet.

The bear stood in his place, holding Sari by the hair, the girl gripping his hand and pain in her eyes. The bear chuckled at Mighty, "Oh is this your girlfriend?" he teased lightly, "Tell me something, little BOY. Does this make you angry?" he pulled on Sari's hair even more, drawing a whimper from the girl

Mighty fidgeted, he wanted to pull Sari away form the jerk, but he was outnumbered, even with his strength. He had to think of something.

When he didn't answer, the Bear reached into his pocket drawing out a crooked and rusty knife (rusty with what? Mighty didn't want to know). The armadillo felt his heart stop as the bear held it to Saris' head,

"Does this bother you? Would it bothered you if I cut her pretty little pigtails?" he lowered the knife so the blade was touching her face, "Or would it better if I cut her face? Would you still love a hideously scarred little girl?" he snorted, waiting for the Armadillos reaction.

While Mighty didn't understand love yet (or need to, or have it for anything besides video games and candy) understood when a friend was in danger. But, blood boiling in his head, rage took over as he lunged forward, socking the Bear In the stomach with his mighty strength sending him flying back into his friends and releasing Sari.

Not waiting to see what happened to the Bear, Mighty grabbed Sari's hand and started to run back towards the house, he had to get Sari away from here, he had to protect her.

When they were about to the entrance to the trail, a foot shot out and caught Mighty in the back, sending him flying into the forest floor, and sending dirt into his eyes. He grabbed at his eyes struggling to see again when another foot stood on his stomach, the angry voice of the Bear shooting out, no longer playing games, "Someone should teach you RESPECT, boy-"

"stop it!" came the voice of Sari

Mighty felt the foot on his stomach shifted, and he could only assume that Sari was trying to fight him off of Mighty, something he felt grateful, but also horrified, "sari d-"  
there was a flash of blue light and the pressure left all together as the boys started crying out in pain. Confused Mighty felt the ground, coming across a tree and feeling his way to his feet, 'Sari! Sari! Where are you?"

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Shadow stood up suddenly, a uneasy feeling shooting through his spine he could feel the Chaos Energy around him become disoriented and unbalanced, a feeling he was unused to, but some how he knew it was connected to his child. He felt Claire touch his shoulder, "Shadow? What's wrong-"

"Its…its Sari, something's wrong, I need to find Sari." without a further word, he ran out the door. He could feel the energy all surging in one area, was there a fight? Eh leapt off the porch and ran down the densely covered path, cupping his hands to his mouth, "Sari! Mighty!" he desperately listened, before running on.

Finally he saw the bright red shell of Mighty's shell, which also held the source of the Chaos Disorientation. He leapt through the trees and landed in the clearing, by a tree he saw Mighty clinging to it for dear life, his eyes closed and eyelids covered in small scratches, on the ground he saw 2 snake Mobians, and a Bear, cringing and thrashing, he ignored them for a moment and ran over to Mighty, and knelt down grabbing his shoulder.

The boy cried out in fear grabbing the tree tighter, "who-who is it?" eh demanded

"Mighty, its me Shadow, what's going on? Where's Sari?" he could feel his heart pounding in his chest frantically,

"Th-those boys were trying to hurt us, I-I tried to get us away...but-but they caught us and threw me into the ground. I-I couldn't see after that."

"Couldn't see/" shadow touched the boys face gently before realizing the extension of his injuries. Which sent blood boiling through his head. Jumping over to the boys he grabbed the bear but a hand shot out and grabbed his. Jerking his head towards the protector of the boys, he was surprised to see Claire, her face slightly worried, "Shadow, CALMDOWN."

"WHAT the hells is wrong with you?" he yelled, "They attacked Sari and Mighty-"

"SHADOW, I KNOW." but , with her eyes, never leaving his, she gently rolled over the Bear boy, "Look at their eyes.'

He growled slightly but did as he was told, his heart coming to a pause when he saw what was wrong.

The boys face was withered, the veins popping out of his face were glowing a blue that matched the light coming from their eyes, there mouths opening and closing in a mute scream as they cringed and jerked in horror. Disgusted he pushed the boy away, "What's' happening to them?"

Claire could only shake her head. Shadow growled again but then closed his eyes, concentrating, he had to find Sari…..

The Chaos force continued to twist and swell disorienting around him, drawing from everything around them, the trees, the grass, even from the boys. He pressed his hand against his face, if it WAS drawing on life, what ever IT was, then why wasn't' it hurting the three of ! And why couldn't he sense Sari- Suddenly it dawned on him and he felt horror grip his chest, "NO." he stood up again, (ignoring Claire's inquirer). If it was drawing on energy, then did it mean Sari was doing it? Its wasn't so hard to believe, ever since he had discovered his Childs true nature, he had been waiting for the day when Saris' powers would surface. He just didn't think it would be so soon.

Shadow put his hands out to either side and concentrated as hard as he could. Letting his own Chaos energy flow from his body, his stream of energy joining the main stream and conforming in one spot, jus at few feet away!

His eyes shooting open he ran forward and ducked around the tree in his way, at the base sat a very scared and , very small Sari, her bloodied knees drawn to her chest and her knees buried in them. Shadow's first instinct was to hold her but he knew that had to wait, because , despite the face he was going to kill them later, there were 3 teens fighting for their lives. EH quickly knelt down and grabbed her shoulder.

Sari jumped and looked up at him, her face , tearstained, and her eyes were glowing a milky white, the fear wa clear on her face, "D-Daddy-"

"Sari, I known its hard right now, but you need to concentrate." his voice was harsher then he meant for it to be, but he couldn't let his daughter become a murderer like him.

"I-I can't-"

"Yes you can ."he glanced back wondering how much longer the boys were going to live, before turning back he looked at her seriously, "sari, you have to. I cant' help you do this."

The tiny girl, shaking with fear (shadow suspected she knew what would happen to the boys if she didn't' ) and squeezed her eyes shut, Shadow concentrated too, at first the Chaos in the air stayed the same. He heard Sari whimpering, his heart aching to comfort her but knew it would be impossible until the situation was detained.

Finally the Chaos Energy started to draw away form the child, straightening out and joining the main force. But they weren't out of the danger zone yet, Shadow turned from his daughter to call back to Claire, "Claire! Are the jerks ok!"

There was a pause then,' Yes! They've stopped glowing! And they've stopped grimacing!"

Relief shot through his body, and called back in a slightly optimistic voice ,"that's great! Sari you-" he looked back to where his child had sat only to find her gone. Terror returning he stood up, "Sari! Sari this isn't funny!" He called, "Where are you!"

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Sari had just started running, in a haze of tears in despair. What had happened to her before? What were those lights? What was that energy? She found herself tripping on the bottom stair that lead up to the house, she just laid there, tears pouring out of her eyes, "what's wrong with me?" she asked herself, her voice breaking in emotion,

"Sari!"

She gasped and turned around, she could hear her father in the forest, coming closer. She couldn't face him again, standing up she ran into the house and into the bathroom. Slamming the door behind her. she twisted the lock before backing away from the door.

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Shadow burst through the woods in time to see Sari run into the house, "Hey!" he called after her, why was she running from him? Confused he leapt up the stairs in time to see the bathroom door slam ,"Sari stop!" he slid in front of it knocking urgently," Sari are you alright? What's wrong?" when he didn't get a answer he knocked again, "Sari-"

"Go away please!"

Well, at least she answered, and remembered her manners, "Sari why did you lock yourself in there? What's wrong?"

"I don't wanna talk to you so go away!'

Shadows drew back slightly, Sari had never talked to him like that before, what was going on? "Come on Sari, talk to me-"

"No! You don't understand."

"Don't understand?" Shadow felt frustration fill his chest again, he yelled back, "How can I understand if you wont talk to me?" he demanded, but he didn't get a answer, "Sari-"

"Shadow!"

He paused and turned around, Claire was standing in the doorway, a blinded Mighty in her arms and her face starring at his intently, "Shadow, drop it for a moment, give her time, ok? Right now please help me with Mighty before he looses his sight forever." she looked at him slightly pleadingly, "Please."

Shadow looked from Claire to the bathroom , he knew Sari was crying, no child deserved to cry alone. He put his hand on the door , wanting to say something comforting, but right now he was filled with too many conflicting emotions. He turned and walked back.

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After a few minutes, Shadow was safely able to remove all the shards form Mighty's eyes and wash them out, giving Mighty his vision back, or at least most of it. Luckily Shadow concluded that , all he needed now, was more drops and sleep. So they sent him to Shadow's room to lay down.

He looked back towards the bathroom door, he hadn't heard a word from Sari in a few hours now, he knew she didn't leave, why wasn't' she talking to him? What had HE done wrong! Feeling anger rising again, he stormed out the front door, slamming it behind him. He walked out into the center of the yard, hand to his head as he closed his eyes, what was he missing?

"Shadow?"

Turning around, he saw Claire standing a few fee behind him, her face full of sympathy, and sadness, "Shadow its not you…"

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, Sari's just scared now, she knows what she almost did, even if it was a accident, she feels like a monster…" her eyes dimmed over, as though remembering, for a moment then looked back at him, "She's not going to talk to you."

"But why , I don't understand I'm her father-"

"But she doesn't think you understand.""

"why_"

"Tell me this, did you ever once tell her about your past? With the ARK? With Black Arms? With Maria? With herself?"

'Of course not, why would I do that! IF she ever found out HALF the things I did she'd never-"

"See? That's how she feels, if you want her to open up to you, you have to open up to her-"

Shadow spun around angrily, "That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! I cant' tell her! This is different, she didn't have a choice, she was trying to protect Mighty, I didn't have any reasons for my actions, I nearly destroyed the world, TWICE," a heavy weight fell over his chest, "IF she ever found out her creation...she would never forgive herself….she wouldn't' feel loved….." he added this part a bit quietly, closing his eyes

"I don't think so."

He opened his eyes to see Claire right in front of him, her warm hand on his shoulder, "What-"

"I think she might even feel more love,"

"don't be stupid="

"Think about it, you knew about her past all along, but you still cared about her. That should say something about her ," she smiled kindly, "And about you."

He paused, walking towards the house he paused for a moment, then looked back on her, taking her hand gently, "Thank you." he whispered then walked back inside. And walked right up to the bathroom door, putting his hand on it gently, "Sari?" he called softly, "Are you there kid?" he didn't get a response, but he could hear her sniffle, "Kid there's something….important I need to tell you….can you listen?" he waited for a moment, then heard her footsteps shuffle over and sit by the door, even if she didn't say anything he knew she was listening, "Sari, I was born in a place called the ARK….50 years ago…"

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After a few hours Shadow walked out the front door, and saw Claire sitting on the top porch-step, she turned to him and smiled sadly, "How did it go?"'

"I'm not sure." he saw down by her, "I told her everything but she didn't say a word, so I left.' he sighed heavily, putting his face in his hands, to rest his head. He felt a arm wrap around his shoulders comfortingly and hug him gently, "She just needs time to think, she's been through a long day…."

"But what if this didn't help!" he looked at her , his face loosing his normal scowl and was full of worry, 'what if-"

" I was so scared before." came a thick childlike voice

Unable to believe his hears, he stood up (pulling Claire with him )and turned around, Sari was staining at the front door, her big gold eyes swelling with tears, small hiccups coming out and making her shoulders jump, "I was so scared because I didn't know what was going on ," she bowed her head trying to stop her tears, "I was so scared-"

Shadow hurried forward and picked her up , holding her tightly in his arms, his voice became thick , for a reason he didn't know, "its alright Sari, I know, you were very brave Sari, I'm proud of you."

"So-so Remy was never my brother? I-I'm a chaos emerald?"

"It doesn't' matter, Remy- I mean Remus, he still cared about you dearly. And it doesn't matter where you came from, you're here now."

Her tiny arms tightened around his neck, "But I'm so scared Daddy….. I don't want to hurt anyone else…."

"That's' why I'm going to help you, you'll never loose control like that again."

"Pr-Promise?"

"I promise….."Shadow felt something wet roll down his face and quickly touched his face, "These things again?" he asked himself , looking up he saw Claire looking right at him, a sheepish smile on her face as she struggled to keep from giggling, "what?" he demanded," quickly covering Saris' ears with ear plugs

"Nothing."

Shadow looked back at the wet spot on his hand then quickly started rubbing his eyes with furious speed, "My tear ducts just broke! They do that!"

"Of course they do Shadow, of course they do."


	12. Stranded

Shadow, Saris hand in his own, walked down the sidewalk that would lead to Sais' new school. The school year, so far, was going well. Sari was making a lot of new friends, classes were easy for her, and she was getting out of the house. Shadow smirked slightly, as they came in view of the school, he could see all the mothers struggling with their sons. Sari was never difficult. He turned to her, "Have everything?"

She nodded enthusiastically, her backpack filled to the brim, a duffle bag with her tiny hockey gear in one hand and a violin case in the other. Normally Shadow wouldn't want her to be in so many clubs (then again, the only way Shadow would let her play hockey was if she joined another club also that was calming) but she proved herself more then capable. She gave her father a quick hug before running to the school as warning belle went off.

The sun suddenly stung his eyes reminding him of the heat wave the village was currently suffering through, he put his hand over his eyes, "Dam, stupid sun-"

"Why hello there sir!"

Peering under his hand he saw a Mobian Pug woman wearing a large dress and a big purse, with way too much make-up, her eyes holding a look Shadow found unfamiliar, and down right creepy, "What do you want?"

"Are you Saris' father?" her eyes seemed slightly eager

"Um, Yes." he noticed some other mothers forming a ring around him, which made him feel uneasy (they sort of looked like they were going to eat him), "What does it matter/"

"Well I'm Mrs. Corgi, Porky's mother, he's in the same class as Sari."

"oh?" why did it matter?

"I must say, Sari is quite the gem, I've never seen a more adorable or well-behaved child, you must be so proud." (the other moms nodding eagerly)," She must take after you."

Shadow smirked slightly, of course his daughter was awesome," Who else?" he crossed his arms

"Well, maybe her mother, is…she around?" the other mothers looked on eager, which furthered Shadows' tension

"Sari doesn't have a mother." why were they curious about this?

"Oh so you're …single?"

"I suppose-" then he froze, he had seen this before in horror movies, this is when the monsters attacked the helpless victim! These mothers, which their lustful hungry looks, were going to do SOMETHING horrible! He looked around quickly," I have to go, "he quickly teleported away and appearing in the GUN headquarters still confused, "what the hell-"

"Shadow?"

Turning he saw Claire, in full formal military attire, standing there, with the cups of coffee (it was her turn to get there), "what's wrong with you? You look like you were cornered by a pack of velociraptor ."

"Not too far from it."

"HUh?"

"I'll explain a the meeting."

Claire nodded, the two headed towards the main room, since the explosion a few weeks before, all meetings were held in the debriefing room which was good for the two of them for a few reasons:

1)Instead of hard steel chairs, hey say in lounge chairs, which was positioned like a movie theatre

2) there were personnel tables to allow to bring in food

3) the rows were pretty well spaced so Shadow and Claire could sit as far from Rat Nerd as possible

So that's how Shadow and Claire ended up in the back row, the table between them lined with cards as they played Poker ,using free coffee tokens instead of money (but to be fair, to the two caffeine addicts, it was just as valuable as money) as Shadow explained his strange morning, "And then I teleported out of their, what the hell was wrong with them?" looking up he saw a sympathetic look on her face, "What?"

"Oh….you poor poor sap-"

"I told you to stop referencing me as a fluid transported in xylem cells , why are you patronizing me this time?"

"I'll tell you , but answer me this, were you wearing your formal Military Uniform?"

"Well yeah, I didn't want to have to wear it here. "he looked down on his sleeve and pulled on the black material, "seesh I hate wearing it, I'm not supposed to wear clothes dam it-"

"Focus Shadow, I can't believe you can't see it."

"See what?"

"You're the Hot Single Dad."

"I'm the what?"

"Think about it Shadow." she held up her fingers,' "you hear all the time from Fan Mobian Girls, that they think you're attractive , I really wouldn't know, you have a great daughter, your dark, and you have self discipline, hence the military uniform. You must be quite the catch among Mobians"

"that's disgusting, those women are _married-"_

There was a giant snapping sound that came from the from the front that brought their attention. The Rat Nerd was standing in a hunched over position, his poking stick was snapped in his hands as he glared at the two, grinding his teeth together, "I am _so sorry _to interrupt you conversation but if you don't have the common decency to be _quiet _during our important meetings then you can leave-"

"Didn't know it was a option. "Claire leapt to her feet,' "Captain Shadow grab the cards!"

Shadow grinned and shoved it all into a bag, "Yes Lance Corporal Vancouver."

"NO WAIT!" called the Rat Nerd , but they had already ran out the door, leaving him standing there, red in his humiliation. Shadow walked behind Claire, looking at the back of her head as something wracked through his head, it wasn't a mystery that Claire was attractive human herself ( at least he thought so by the way all the soldiers stared at her) but off base no guy even looked at her, or approached her. How was SHE keeping all the guys off of her? It was a concept he had to research and use for himself, to save himself form the endless mass of soccer moms-

"Hey Shadow!"

Shadow jumped out of his train of thought to look at her, "What now?"

"Don't forget, we're leaving GUN early today so we can start packing for the beach trip tomorrow.."

Oh right, Sonics latest idea. He rolled his eyes, he didn't' see the point of getting up at 6:30 in the morning just to go to the beach for a day. Even though he had never been to one, he still couldn't see the value in going to one. "I still think it's a stupid idea."

"Well it's a good thing we're not going for you anyway, we're going for Sari, remember?"

How could he not? Even though Sari was doing well, all of her drawings seemed focused on oceans, which wasn't that surprising since, before Shadow adopted her, she had grown up by a beach. Which made Shadow fear she was getting depressed. So this might be a good way to cheer her up. But he just rolled his eyes, "Of course I didn't forget, Ears."

Claire blinked slightly shocked putting her hands over her wolf ears as though embarrassed, "When did you start calling me that?"

"Everyone else does, and your ears are highly sensitive to your emotions."

"NO they're not!"

"See? You're embarrassed, I can tell by your ears."

"Shut up! Quit starring at my ears!"

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Next Morning 6:30

Sleep, one of the many joys Shadow got to enjoy nowadays, ( which also included :Reading to his daughter, punching villains in the face, coffee, and being around his new family) but it was definitely the simplest and most one of the most fulfilling. Especially on Saturday mornings, when he knew everyone else would be sleeping in, giving him no hurry to wake up as he lied on his bed, no concerns in the world …drowning in sheets….this was the life.

His ears twitched as he heard his door creep open slowly, but that had to be his imagination. NO one was up this early-

"Daddy?"

Yeah, he was definitely dreaming, and now his subconscious had brought Sari into his dream….that was it.

"Daddy. You need to get up, we need to go Daddy." her hand shook his foot

He kicked his foot lightly, "GoawaySAri." despite the fact Shadow was a rather warm father when he was awake, in his 'mid-morning-post-coffee' jams he could be quite the grouch

"Daddy, you told me last night that if I couldn't get you up I would have to go get Aunty Claire. Do you want me to go get Aunty Claire?" she sounded more like a older sister then daughter, and if SHE was this bad then what horrors would be unleashed on the world if they brought CLAIRE into this.

But at the moment, Shadow didn't care and just waved a hand at her before puling a pillow over his head. He heard the footsteps leave and was filled with relief. "there we go….."

Down the hall he suddenly heard a giant "WHAT!" then a pair of combat boots heading in his direction, the door flying open, "Get your lazy butt up right now!"

"go to hell!" he yelled from under pillow, screw going to the beach, sleep was way more important.

"Shadow GET UP NOW!"

Shadow just kicked at her, before pulling the blankets over his head, "ignore her…ignore her-"

Suddenly Claire grabbed him around the ankles and yanked hard. Shadow swore loudly as he hit the floor with a dull thud and glared at her angrily," What the hell?"

""You're COMING you already PROMISED. So get your BUTT in the CAR!"

"FINE!" he yelled loudly, "I didn't want to sleep anyway!' and pushed by her and stormed down the stairs and out the door. The giant rented van (which was already packed) was parked out front and its bright green color made Shadow bring his hand over his eyes (despite the fact the sun wasn't even up yet), "Ugh, Why couldn't we have gotten the hummer?" he grumbled. He felt a hand tap on his shoulder and turned his hand to se Claire holding out a cup of coffee, her face apologetic, "this make up for dragging you out of bed?"

Shadow looked from her to the coffee, then took it, "it's a start."

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After 4 hours of the road (which Shadow decided he was driving after seeing Claire had no intention of taking off her sunglasses behind the wheel) packed in a van with the people who considered themselves Shadows' friends (a curse he wasn't sure how he came to deserve). They finally came up to the beach, which was already crowded with numerous families and brought a growl to Shadows throat, "Dam, I thought we got here early so we wouldn't have to deal with other people." he gripped the steering wheel with tension. Luckily Claire was in the seat by him, "We rented a part of the beach weeks beforehand."

"Good"

The beach itself was known at Cinnamon Cove, not only was it beautiful around this time of year, but on the beach you could see 3 islands in the distance, all of which were at least 3 miles away from each other but it made for a beautiful view. 2 of the 3 islands were inhabited, but the third was barren of all civilized life which earned it the name.

Dead Island

But it was lucky that they weren't going there, right?

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Within the hour, the beach had been set up with a picnic table and a umbrella, already the group was off having fun and games: Sonic, Amy, Knuckles and Claire were boarding in the surf , Sari, Mighty and Cream/Cheese were playing in the ocean, on a closed off section of water to keep from being swept away.

And Shadow?

He saw underneath the huge umbrella, sunglasses over his eyes and a book in his hands, the only thing he could salvage from this trip was Sari and Claries' happiness and the fact he could finish the final Harry Potter book. Normally a book of this nature wouldn't appeal to him in anyway, but ever since it was released Sonic kept taunting him about the ending , so he figured he'd read it and get Sonic off his back.

Glancing up he gave a quick peek over to the children, the net kept them safe, which relieved him, it also made him happy to see Sari so happy. He smirked slightly.

'Hey Shadow!'

He glanced in the other direction to see Claire slid up by him, (he was grateful hat she was wearing a knee length web-suit instead of a skimpy bathing suit like all the other girls were, a good influence for Sari), "What happened to your surfing?"

"The water was getting too rough so we had to stop. Don't worry, Sari and Mighty are safe where they are."

"thanks'" he glanced up at her face and smirked, "finally you have a reason to wear those." he poked her sunglasses slightly, making them slide down her nose.

She pushed them back up, " Hey be nice.' then glanced down on the shoes that they had stacked up by him (dubbing him the unofficial Shoe Guard) and smirked slightly, "You know, you could go swimming with the rest of us-"

"Rest of you ? You're the only one that can swim."

"I am? Then why are we all at a beach?"

Before Shadow could answer, Sonic appeared right behind him arms over them both like a bud, "Because, just because we can't swim doesn't mean we can't have fun Claire, that's only Shadows rule.'" he laughed good naturedly, "Come on Shadow, at least take off your shoes and enjoy the sand between your toes!"

"I don't want to." his aggravated face became dark with humor , "I just thought of something to do" he grabbed Sonic red and white shoes by the shoe-laces and walked over to the shoreline and tied Sonics shoes together, and began swinging them above his head like a sling shot before releasing them, sending them flying over the waves and far into the ocean, 'GOAL!"

Sonic screeched loudly and ran to the shoreline, dancing wildly (his bare feet slapping against the sand,), "NO! THOSE ARE MY ONLY PAIR OF SHOES! SOMEONE HELP THEM PLEASE! CALL GUN! CALL THE LIFEGUARD!" he grabbed his head, 'SOMEONE DOOOO SOMETHING!"

Shadow crossed his arms, THIS was fun, he closed his eyes taking in Sonics screams with self satisfying joy.

Then "give me a sec Sonic, I can go get them."

Shadows eyes shot open, Claire stood knee deep in the water, dark green surfboard in the crook of her arms. In panic he ran over , not caring if he get wet and grabbed her arm, "wait you don't have to, I'll go get them-"

But she smiled, "Shadow you jus told me yourself, you guys can't swim, the waves aren't so bad right now so there shouldn't be any problems." she patted him on the head, "Trust me."

He paused, he didn't want her to get hurt but she seemed so confident. Nodding he released her arm he watched her paddle out , going over the waves. The further she when the more nervous he got, "Careful!" he called out there. He saw Claire stop paddling for a moment and turned to him giving him a wave to indicate she was ok, being too far to yell.

Shadow smiled relieved then saw the water start to swell as it rushed towards the shore, breaking away from the water earlier it rose up several feet in a monstrous power. Shadow ran further into the water, now waist deep and yelled, "Claire! Claire get out of there!" but was helpless as the wave crashed down on top of Claire. He waited, heart pounding quickly as he longed for her to come up out of the water, but after a 3 seconds he couldn't wait any more. He turned and ran out of the water, sliding to a stop then turning back towards the ocean when Sonic grabbed his arm, "Shadow wait! You can't swim-"

"I know that Faker!" he snapped bitterly then ran at the water, his speed activating and sending him skating over the water, using his agility to jump over the miniature waves. He glanced back, the others had gathered in one spot, looking on him with helplessness. He could see Sari in Knuckles arms, probably trying to get over to him. But turned back and reached he spot he had last seen Claire, sliding to a stop he looked down, trying to see if he could see her in the gathering gray water, "CLAIRE! CLAIRE?" he squatted down, frantic, "Clair-"

"SHADOW!" came Sonics faint urgent voce," BEHIND YOU!"

"Huh_" but it was too late as a massive wave broke down onto of him, slamming him into the water.

Shadow struggled against the waters strong current, which was twisting him around and sucking him of all his energy as he fought against it, water filling his lungs and his heavy metal shoes wearing him down, his vision filling with dots as he lost oxygen…slowly dragging him down into the depth of the ocean, 'is this….the end….?' he thought to himself as he began to black out.

Suddenly something caught him around the waist and yanked him free of the underwater current. Shadow found himself, and the mysterious creature, shooting towards the surface, was this for real?

They broke through the surface, the mysterious savior, grabbed Shadow around the chest and pulled him over to a familiar dark green surfboard.

Shadow, relieved, draped a arm over it (the person still holding him), coughing uncontrollably as his body tried to rid itself of the salt water, his vision coming back. After a few moments he turned his head and blinked with shock, "Claire!"

The wolf eared ,sunglasses missing , very tired and sick looking girl smiled weakly, Sonics shoes were tied around her wrist, , "Hey Shads, what bring you to a place like this?" even now she still had her humor.

Shadow instantly wrapped his free arm around her waist, (as thought any second now she'd' be drug back into the ocean)"Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?"

"I'm fine, what are you doing here? You told me you couldn't swim!"

He gave a weak laugh, "I can't but I couldn't let you drown."

Claire sighed, her hand tightening around his quills as she hoisted him up onto the surfboard, (he grabbed either side of the board to stay balanced) then hoisted herself after him, "Shadow that was reckless, you could of drowned!"

"Same for you! Last I saw you crash under that wave!"

"Yeah I was in trouble, but I just went out to sea instead of trying to go back to shore."

Shadow sighed heavily, resting his head against his hand, but felt a equally cold hand touch his shoulder which made raise his head, to see Claire looking at him with a face of warmth, "I am touched though that you tried to save me."

He smiled back weakly before looking around at their surroundings, now the shore was so far from sight that he couldn't even see their friends, "Have any ideas?"

"Well, do your shoes work?"'

"NO, I have to gain speed in order for the jets to activate, even then the waters shorting them out and there's not enough Chaos Force to teleport us, we could float to the beach-"

"We can't, the waves are so rough we'd be capsized," she pointed towards one pf the islands closest to them, "The winds don't seem to be that harsh in that direction, therefore the waves shouldn't give us trouble, lets head in that direction."

"How?"

"Easy. We're going to have to push the surfboard, we'll still be holding onto the board and I'll keep my arm around you to keep you from falling off-"

"That sounds good-"

"But in order for that to work you'll need to take off your hover shoes."

Shadow blinked, "What?"

"You're shoes will only hinder in you in the water, so you need to-"

"NO."

"What? But Shadow-"

"No."

"Why!"

"Its not going to hinder me, I'll be fine." his voice sounded urgent and uncomfortable, which was something Claire had never seen.

"Come on Shadow, you're perfectly manly without your shoes-"

"That's not it."

"Then what is it?" when Shadow didn't answer Claire added, "Your shoes are going to drown you Shadow, you can put them back on as soon as we get to shore, alright?"

Shadow paused, his face screamed that he was at war with himself for several minutes the he snapped, "Oh fine! But if I hear one word-"

"You wont, just take them off and hand them over." what was the big deal?

Shadow pulled his feet up onto the surfboard and put his hands on the clasps of his shoes before glaring at Claire one last time, "This is a one time thing, you better not tell anyone."

"I wont now quit being a little girl and take off your shoes."

He sighed the took a hold of the clasps on both shoes at the same time and, after another sigh, pulled off his shoes all the way

Claries eyes widen greatly, "Oh…..My.,…..Stars."

"Don't you dare-"

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Sonic stood impatiently at the shore line, they had sent Tails out to look for the two awhile ago but he felt guilt in his chest, he should of never let Claire go out there, this was his fault. He closed his eyes

"Tails! I see Tails!" called Amy

Eyes shooting open, he saw Tails flying at them, exhausted from battling the wind, his wings giving out and sent him falling in the wake. Sonic ran forward and picked up his little bro, running over to the others and setting him down on a towel, "Tails? Did you see Claire and Shadow/"

"Yeah.' he nodded, "they were heading for one of the islands, probably since it was the easiest to get to, but as far as I can see, they're unharmed."

Sonic sighed relieved, looking over he saw the same look on Saris' face,

"But I heard something….I think I might of misheard it but….."

"what was it?"

"It sounded like….. wild laughter."

"Huh?" this couldn't be true, why would they be laughing in such a dire situation? "Ok guys, we need to go back to our town, and get Tails plane. Ok team?"

"Right!" they all said in unison

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Meanwhile, back in the ocean

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!"

"Silence stupid human girl! You promised you wouldn't laugh!"

"Oh come on Shadow, how can I not? You're feet, they're so fat!"

"They're not fat they're muscular-"

"You keep telling yourself that bud." then Claire went back to her insanely loud laughter, which had been going on for a while now.

Shadow felt his ears pin against his head as his face burnt red, "This is embarrassing."

Claire rested her head against his trying to be comforting, "Oh come on Shadow I'm sorry I couldn't resist, I guess I was just so shocked at how…manly they were." she put on a sad voice, "Please forgive me?"

Shadow looked back at her and sighed heavily, "Alright fine, just stop laughing."

"Alright alright I promise. We're almost there anyway."

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Shadow felt a great relief rush over him when their feet finally touched the sandy ground (sonic was right, it was nice to feel the sand beneath his toes) and they were on dry land. Shadow instantly sat down and pulled his shoes back on, relieved for the secure feeling. "About time, right Claire?" he was confused when he didn't get a response, he looked around , "Claire?" then he saw her a few feet away, double over and arms around her stomach, "Claire! You alright?" he slid over and put a hand one her back, finding her skin shaking, 'Claire?"

She turned to look at him, her face pale and sickly, "I'm fine, I must of swallowed a lot more salt water then I thought." she laughed weakly, "I'll be fine though. Can you teleport us now?"

Shadow shrugged then closed his eyes, hand on her shoulder, "Chaos control!" he paused then looked at his hand confused, then tried again," Chaos Control!"

"Um Shadow/"

"I don't get it…there's no Chaos Energy here, that's impossible…."

"Unless…."

"We're on Dead Island."

They paused for a little bit, it didn't matter all the tings they had heard about the island (the truth was they both didn't care about legends) but the fact was that there was no civilized life on the island, no animals, no birds, just the plants. It was also known as being a dead spot for Chaos Energy for some reason.

Shadow frowned slightly but then said, " we need to head up the mountain and find a spot to stay until we get rescued by the idiots."

Claire nodded in agreement, and stood back up. After a few moments rest they decided to head for the mountain for promise of clean drinking water. Shadow glanced back at her every so often, making sure she was keeping up with him ok. She must of noticed because she elbowed him playfully, "OH relax Shadow, I'm not going to drop dead."

"That's doesn't mean I can't worry does it?" his voice was a little testy and frustrated, a trait Claire hadn't seen in a long time, 'he really must be worried' she thought, then quickly put her hands over her ears ( to hide her sadness from shadow). But the truth was she was more worried about him, his walking was labored and his breathing was thick and heavy, she touched his shoulder, his skin flinching from the coldness of her hand, "Shadow, are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, I just don't like being so far in the ocean. Especially without my Chaos Control." He shivered again, whether from anger or from the cold Claire didn't know, but it didn't change the fact he still looked ill. She also knew he'd never stop walking if it was him. Claire ,realizing what she had to do, quickly stopped walking and doubled over ,"Oh moan….moan…moan….."

Shadow turned quickly, "Claire!" he ran back, grabbing her arm, "What's wrong?"

"Its my delicate female stomach, oh how it hurts…"

He looked around quickly, noticing a small freshwater spring, "We can rest here for tonight alright?"

"But what about you?" big innocent eyes

"I'll rest with you it's fine."

"Well….if you're sure…."Bingo. She walked over and sat down on the ground. To be honest she was glad for the break (her stomach really was upsetting her). But now at least Shadow was resting. Looking over (as she started a campfire) she saw him brooding by her, his face still furrowed and strained. He probably needed sleep too…..so she decided to keep with her strategy, she put her hand over mouth and forced out a fake yawn pretending to try to hide it.

Shadow took the bait, "If you're tired, don't try to hide it. Go ahead and get some sleep."

"But what about you?" return of the big eyes, "It's not fair to you….." she titled her head back and squinted through one eye at Shadow. But this time he was glaring at her

"I know what you're trying to do, I feel fine-" suddenly he grabbed his arms, shaking uncontrollably and his head fallen forward slightly. Claire quickly turn and put her hands no his shoulders, his skin ice-cold, "Shadow please, right now you're doing worse then I am, please lay down-"

"NO." he snapped at her, "I don't need help, so stop try-" he doubled over again, "D-Dam it!"

Without asking for permission she knelt in front of him, putting her hand to his forehead, "You're freezing Shadow, can't you please just tell me what's going on?"

Shadow glanced at her pleading face for a moment before looking away, "I don't know, I just feel weak…I can ba-barely move-"

Claire put a hand on his back, his skin once again, flinching under her hand, she had to do something. "Give me a moment." quickly standing up she quickly climbed up the tree they had been leaning on, its rough bark cutting her bare feet slightly but she was at the top in seconds, holding on the point for support.

"Be careful up there!" came Shadows voice

She put a hand over her eyes, to block the strong sun against her sunglass sensitive eyes, "Ow…" but focused hard around the huge island (not nearly as big as Angel /island). Her eyes focusing on the mountain that loomed a few miles away, a shimmer against the mountain which gave her hope, "Got it!" she leapt down the tree again and landed right by Shadow, who had moved himself up into sitting position, "There's a shiny fruit tree on the mountain."

To Explain, during her months of Military Sniper Survival Training, one of her commanders warned them that Mobius was full of unique plants and fruits. All with different properties, ones with healing properties were shiney, supposedly.

"I'm going to go get it-"

"Are you brain-fevered! You'll get lost-"

"No I wont, I'll be back before you know it. Trust me." without waiting for a response she leapt down and ran into the forest disappearing from sight.

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Sonic walked out of the Freedom Fighter Hangar, the Typhoon was needing some repair work (seeing as they forgot to fix it up after the last battle with the Egg Fleet). But Sonic was getting in the way so much that eventually Knuckles booted him out of the hangar (which was strange enough as it is). He stretched his arms and put them on the back of his head .His normally relaxed nature was now stressed and tired. Even though he was sure Claire and Shadow were fine, but the guilt still remained in his chest, "I shouldn't have made such a big deal about my shoes, they were replaceable, but friends weren't.

"Uncle Sonic?"

Turning around he saw the pj'd Sari standing in the doorway, "Sari what are you doing up? Its getting late."

"I had a bad dream."

"About what kiddo?" he picked her up, patting her on the head

"I had a dream that Daddy and Claire never came back and I was shipped off to a orphanage…I was alone…."

"Oh kiddo…. Don't worry you're Daddy and Aunt will be fine…I promise to bring them back to you."

"Really?" her big teary eyes looking at him with hope

"Yeah, I promise kid….here I'll tuck you in."

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"The mountains must be further then I thought" Claire mumbled out loud as she slid to a stop, her hand resting against a tree for a few moments of rest. Her bare feet stung from running over so many little rocks and her stomach sloshed uncomfortably around her stomach. "I hope Shadow is ok." She couldn't have left more then a hour ago but she was still worried,

A sharp pain shot through her chest bringing her crashing to her knees on the rough jungle floor coughing uncontrollably for a few moments before the pain went away and she lay there one arm around her chest and the other on the ground gripping the dead and overgrown jungle-floor as she breathed weakly, "Something has to give here." she grumbled . She took a deep breath she got back on her knees to get up when her hand brushed against something cold and rough.

Claire drew her hand back in shock before she started pulling back the dead wet leaves and branches. It sure didn't feel like a loose stone, her hand touched it again but this time, instead of yanking back she ran her hand over it. It was smooth and clean cut….almost like…

"A road?" she asked herself out-loud standing up, she continued to use her sensitive cut feet to brush against it…."where does it go?"

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Hours went by and Shadow still sat by the fire Claire had made for him, his mind (and stomach) currently in a jumble. Claire should have been back by now, part of him (the impulsive side) wanted to run after her, but the Logical side knew that if was better to stay and wait. Sighing heavily he closed his eyes.

A snap of a twig brought his attention back and leapt to his feet, "So much for Dead Island." he muttered he got ready to fight whatever forces were out there….

Claire stepped out of the shadows, her face tired, worn and pale but smiling. A small cloth bag hung from her side , "Hey Shadow."

"Claire?" he blinked then walked over, "You look horrible, are you ok?"

"yeah I'm fine." she reached into the mysterious bag, pulling out a small gray fruit with black splotches," This is what I was looking for.'

"It was?" That ugly thing?

"Yeah, try it."

"What about you?"

"I feel fine.' she gave a weak laugh, "go on ahead."

Shadow looked at the fruit suspiciously before popping it into his mouth.

Instantly a horrible gagging reflex took over him, bringing him to his knees , "what-" salt water shot out of his mouth as eh collapsed on his side as he lay there coughing. He heard Claire kneel by him, "Do you feel better?"

"Do I feel better?" he demanded angrily, "I feel-" he paused actually, he didn't feel cold anymore, and his stomach did feel better, "I do. What the hell was that thing?"

"Its called the Repulsion Fruit. IT rejects all foreign objects out of your body that doesn't belong. Like, this instant, salt water."

Shadow coughed again, laying his head back, moving his head so it was on Claries lap (you know, since she was there anyway). He looked at her confused, "Where did you get the bag? Where did you go?"

"I'll explain tomorrow, just sleep well ok?"

There was no argument against that, he closed his eyes weakly as sleep rushed over him, what a day…..

Hey please check out the poll i put up, please!


	13. Stranded 2

Chapter 13

Mephiles sighed, why he ever decided to team up with Eggman he didn't know, ever since they had found The Tracker (Floating somewhere near mars) they had halted their plans till they could completely heal the Chameleon. HE crossed his arms walking down the hallway, every minute they spent waiting was a minute they were without the Chaos Child. Something that he dearly wanted, or at least he just wanted to get back at Shadow….

"Hello Mephiles you look bored."

Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Dr. Finitevus, the white furred echidna was standing in the doorway, leaning a against it, his warp rings located on his wrist and ankles, a dark cloak on his shoulders and his nose-brim glasses located on the edge of his nose, his teeth smiling pointedly at him,

"what of it?"

"well, you know, I have a research center located on Dead Island, and I have a modest security system there to make sure no one attacks it."

"And-"

"And my locators went off this morning, apparently there are 2 intruders on my island. If you want you can go get them."

"Why not get them yourself? I'm no ones slave-"

"Oh but Mephiles, the video feed showed a young girl with white hair and a certain red and black hedgehog.."

Mephiles paused then turned to Dr. Finitevus, "And where exactly is this island?"

8888888888888888

Shadow awoke to the sun shining through the tree canopy and through his eyelids. Grumbling he raised his hand to block out the sun from his vision, "Turn it off." he grumbled slightly. Because he wasn't foolish he wasn't surprised that he was in the jungle, yesterdays events remaining strong in his mind, "Darn….." but one thing had slipped his mind that sent him flying to his feet ,something falling to the ground, "Claire?" he looked around frantically the campfire was burnt out and his friend , to his relief, was sitting up against the tree he had been laying by, still asleep.

He sighed with relief and looked over to seen what had fallen. At his feet lay a green blanket, hand knit and blinked surprised, "How did that get on me?" then looked over at Claire realizing she must of done it when he had fallen asleep. He sighed, "Stupid kid."

"Heard that." Claire opened one of her eyes and looked at him amused ,

"Well you are, I don't need a blanket, you're the human." but Shadow's face softened, "But I appreciate the gesture."

"Good. You feelings better?"

Shadow paused, he hadn't actually thought about it to much, but he did feel much better then last night. The nauseas and chill that had all but immobilized him was gone but a headache still remained. Nothing he couldn't live with, then he blinked as he remembered how ill Claire had been and walked over to her and knelt down," And you? How are you feeling?"

"I've definitely felt better." she laughed weakly

Shadow's eyes narrowed greatly, as another thought entered his mind "Didn't you take any of that fruit for yourself?"

Claire slowly scrunched her shoulders under his death glare, her face turning sheepish as slowly started smiling slowly (and uneasily) as though trying to cushion his rage, but it only ended with his eyes narrowing by the second

"_Claire."_

"Well….buddy…..when I found the tree , but there was only one fruit on there, from what I could see, so I just grabbed that one….heh….heh…heh."

Shadow stood there and stared at her with a unrelenting glare for , what seemed to be forever, then he grabbed her hand and started storming towards the path, Claire yelped as she was drug to her feet, her legs jumbling together before straightening out and she was able to walk straight (or rather be drug straight), "Shadow! Shadow where are we going-"

"You are going to show me where you found that fruit so I can find another one and shove it down your throat!"

"But Shadow I said there wasn't anymore-"

"Take me there anyway so I can find another tree, I'm not going to let you die because of your own stupidity!"

"Die? Stupidity! It was logical, you couldn't even move you were so ill, while I could still walk. It was only natural to assume you were more ill so I wanted to help you-"

"you don't get it!" he snapped so loudly that Claire flinched, "I'm the Ultimate Lifeform, my body ,no matter how badly hurt, will always heal, but you…."he stopped walking for a moment then sighed, "You're a soldier but you're still human….humans have…." he couldn't finish the sentence

Claire felt her ears droop again in her realization, did he worry that much about her? Then she felt annoyed for a moment her free hand shot out and grabbed his ear giving a yank.

"Ow!" he jerked his head in her direction, "What was that-"

"I may be human, but I'm also Bad-A Genetically Advanced." her scowl turned into a gentle smile, "So relax, I know you're stressed, but we know Sari's ok since the others are with her, WE'RE ok, I'm not going to drop dead. I'll take you to he tree but don't act so angry. This may be a desert island but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy the view." she smiled softly squeezing his hand gently then pointed forward, "Its that way."

Shadow, who had been glaring up until now sighed, closing his eyes sighing, "You're right…."he smiled weakly and started walking up the path, puling her along a bit more gently. Which was a major relief to Claire. He turned to look at her, a smirk on his face, "But you know I'm much more Bad-A then you."

"Oh you're so full of it!"

8888

Sonic sighed with relief as the red cargo helicopter, a gold _Chaotix_ written on the side landed on base. Running up to the cockpit, he saw Vector at the wheel, "Hey Vec, thanks for coming at such short notice."

"Think nothing of it, when a friends in need the Chaotix come at great speed!"

Sonic nodded, the Tornado had ended up having worse mechanical problems then they had anticipated, how bad? Well, lets just say that the only thing currently working on the tornado was the keys.

Ouch.

But luckily they had gotten a hold of the Chaotix and asked them for a lift (using one of their thousands of favors). Sonic was about to run onto the helicopter when something grabbed his leg in a hug. Confused he looked down to see Sari hugging his leg, "Please let me come Uncle Sonic, please, I want to help Mommy and Daddy! Please!" tears ran down her sad face and Sonic sympathized.

"I'm sorry Kiddo, but this is dangerous. I need you to stay here ok?"

"But-"

He squatted down, putting his hands on her tiny shoulders, "Remember what I told you last night? I promised to bring your family home safely, and with Knuckles there also there's no way I can fail. SO Do you understand?"

Sari, her bottom lip trembling nodded sadly. Sonic patted her on the head before standing back up, Vanilla coming over and guiding the distressed girl over to the group of worried friends. Sonic felt a twinge of guilt as he watched Sari be lead away, it was his fault she was suffering. But he intended to make it right, cupping his hand to his mouth he called, "Hey Knux! Hurry it up"

The red echidna ran out from behind the base, obviously giving Charmy last minute instructions on how to guard the Master Emerald in his absence, "I'm coming!" then the two piled into the helicopter.

7 hours now it would take to fly to Dead Island, even at top-speed. 7 hours to find out if Shadow and Claire were even still alive….

888888

"Now stop."

Shadow did as he was told, looking back on Claire for further instructions. Claire's face, though still sickly and sweaty, was burrowed in concentration. After a few seconds she released Shadows hand and walked towards the thicket of trees and touched one of the trees and ran her hands down the rough bark, "its this way. I tripped on this tree." she reached up to brush the branches back then her hand shot back and doubled over.

"Claire?' Shadow ran up to her quickly putting a hand on her back and looking at her, her arm was wrapped tightly around her chest tightly, her face cringing slightly, which made him worry, "are you ok?" his voice a bit more sympathetic then he had meant. But she just smiled at him tiredly "Yeah I'm fine," then points towards the trees, "The road is just past here."

Shadow, though disheartened and took her hand again (for safety's sake he kept telling himself) and walked through the trees. His foot landing on the road instantly, he looked down on it in shocked. It was just as she had said, it was clean, smooth just like a highway road, "this is…..impossible.' he looked back on Claire, "This island is abandoned, there's never been life on this island…." he looked back on her face to see it was smiling , a good sign.

"Its just a few miles west." indicating to the direction then she looked at him a bit sheepishly, "It takes a while to get there, and I'm just slowing you down, mind zipping us the rest of the way?"

Shadow smirked slightly, but relived also, "Since you asked." he walked over to her and hugged her around the knees lifting her up, letting her sit on his shoulder, he felt her arms wrap around his head gently ad he smiled gently to himself 'at least I know she still relies on me for the important things.' and set off running down the road, (not too fast to keep her from flying off) the jungle palm trees and sky blurred together slightly as the rose up a high hill for a moment before something came up in the distance that made him slide to a stop," what-"Just in the distance lay sat , what appeared to be a city, he looked up at Claire confused, "How-"

"It gets better, get closer."

Shadow hesitated then set off running again. Making it within the city in seconds. The buildings were stone and lacked the grandeur of a skyscraper but they were actual habitual cities. The walls though were torn and old, as though someone hadn't been there in a while. Shadow set Claire on her feet, in awe, "this is what you found last night?"

The girl nodded, before walking over to the buildings and touching the wall with her hand before turning back to Shadow, 'Want to see something even more amazing?"

Curious, he walked over, placing a hand on her back he looked at the wall, but he didn't see anything, "Is your brain feverish as well?"

"NO. Just look closer."

Sighing he did as he was told. Slowly , like a telescope coming into focus, Shadow saw that the wall was covered in tiny cracks, not cracks from age, but straight lines in the wall that seemed to create artistic designs, but they were so small! How could anyone, Overlander or Mobian, do this? He looked back on Claire, "What doe this mean?"

"I'm not sure, but since I don't see any light poles I can only assume that, somehow, light traveled through these things and gave light to the city at night.

"But what did they use? For energy, where did it come from?" he turned his head in the direction the cracks seemed to go and walked after it, going down the alley and heading in one direction. He paused looking at the wall opposite him too, to see it was dong the same. He ran the rest of the way and stopped at a great opening. A huge courtyard where all the lines converged on the ground, now wider and twisting to make words in a language he didn't know, all seeming to spin around a alter in the middle. He walked further, up the steps. At the top there was a indent on the offering of a small gem, "A chaos emerald?" he asked himself, "Claire! They used a Chaos Emerald to power the city!" feeling excited at this discovery ,it quickly faded when he realized there had been no answer. Turning around he saw Claire hadn't followed him like he had assumed. He ran down the steps and called again, hoping she had just not heard him, "Claire!". Within seconds he was back at the end of the alley and found himself horrified to see Claire laying on the ground, unmoving. , "Claire!" he slid forward and quickly pulled her head onto his lap, her face was perspired and twisted in pain. He pressed his hand against her face to feel the warmth, "Dam, Dam Dam Dam Dam." he kept cursing himself, he should of seen it sooner. She had said she was fine and he had taken it with a grain of salt, even after seeing she cringe and falter in pain he still ignored it. "I'm sorry." he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment as he tried to vent his rage , "I'm sorry."

8888888888888

Claire awoke groggily to a small crushing sound, she could see a light tan ceiling above her head was shining gold from the outside sun. the room was small, a archaic sink in the corner. dust was rising in the air around her head making her nose tingle and chest ach slightly, "Darn…" she cursed slightly and sat up slowly hand on the wall and resting against it, where was Shadow-

The door was kicked open and a pile of blankets fell through the door, torn and covered in soot. Shadow coughed slightly, trying to wipe the dust off before noticing she was awake and appeared by her, "How are you feeling? _And if you lie this time-"_

But before Shadow could end his threat Claire was doubled over coughing uncontrollably her hands over her mouth and her eyes squeezed shut to prevent the overspill of tears. Shadow put his hands over her shoulders, a feeling of helplessness coming over him until he snapped himself out of it, "Well?"

"To be honest." she wrapped her arms around her chest and squeezed her eyes shut in pain, "It-It feels like something's attached itself to my lungs, and its making my muscles react and I can't stop coughing and-and its killing my ribs…" she felt his hand feel her forehead again before running over to the blankets again and going through them and pulling out the only 2 that weren't ripped ,"You're burning up, until I get back I need you to try to sweat it out."

Claire just looked confused as he wrapped a large jacket around her shoulders, and the blankest over her legs, "Shadow, where did you find them?"

"Same place you did, I went to the basements of the buildings and found them in some bomb shelters."

"Why are they covered in soot-" then she looked at him laughing slightly, "You destroyed those buildings to get to them didn't you?"

"No…there are a few left standing." but he quickly shook his head, "But that's not the point, where did you find the fruit?"

Claire, closed her eyes tiredly trying to focus, "I came in this direction because I knew it would take me to the mountains, when I saw the first fruit….but when I saw the city….when I looked around I discovered a old pharmaceutical store and all the items were ruined, except for the fruit I found on the floor. It was lucky….."she laughed meekly

"So the fruit on the mountain is still there?"

Claire nodded, her head dipping forward slightly but Shadow shook her gently

"Do you remember where?"

"2.…2 clicks north east…3.3 mile elevation above the sea.."

8888888

Shadow was on his way within minutes. He didn't want to leave Claire defenseless on a island that seemed set on killing them both. But he had to, he bent down low with the expertise of a speed-skater his fingers barely brushing against the grass as he focused as hard as he could on the mission at hand. IT sent a horrible feeling in the stomach as he wondered what horrible diseases were wracking Claire's body. The one thing he couldn't protect anyone from, the one thing that would send Maria to the Hospital room for weeks at time and left him sitting by her side every time, wondering if every last breath she drew would be her last….

But things were different now, he knew how to help Claire and all he could do now was get the fruit for Claire and rid the things out of is body.

He felt something thump against his chest lightly and he slid to a stop, the military chains he away worn had gotten free of his chest chair (where he had always hidden them) and lifted his hand up so they lay in the palm of his hand, he remembered how GUN issued them to all agents, a set of tags (to identify the body after death) and a small dog-tag shaped clasp. A safely chest to remind the solider of home. They would put things inside of them, a small poem, a bullet they would find implanted in their armor for luck (Really creepy soldiers would put the hair of their girlfriend in them) it reminded him of a conversation he and Clair had just a few days before this hellish vacation.

3 days previous

__

Shadow finally saw Claire heading into the hangar, "Oh finally," he growled to himself "Ears, wait up!"

she glanced back to see her running towards him, the two were getting ready to pile into the helicopter for their next mission. he stopped just a few feet in front of her and held out her chains, "You left them in the locker room**"**

__

Her face instantly smirked, "What were you doing in the girls locker room?"

"What do you think Dumb A? Looking for you."

She smiled then reached out to take them , but Shadow felt a tinge of guilt pulling them back and looking at them again, a thought bothering him

"Shadow?"

"I didn't mean to, but I saw what was in your Safety Chest."

"Oh?"

He looked up at her, then back to the clasps and gently opened it gently a small picture falling out and he rolled it out holding it up to her, on the picture was Sari in her hockey gear while Shadow hugging her, it was probably a stray picture a parent had taken at the end of one of her Pee-wee hockey games, "I didn't think we mean that much to you."

"Well, DUH you said it yourself many times. You guys are part of my family. Why wouldn't I?" she just smiled and Shadow found himself smiling back weakly holding it out to her. Claire took it back, putting it on her neck before smirking again, looking at him , "You going to show me what's' in yours?"

But Shadow just gave a arrogant laugh, "OH please don't be nosy."

Shadow paused fingering it for a moment before opening it between his fingers and looked at the small picture pasted inside: Claire and Sari were sitting side by side, both holding a violin as they struggled to play but they were both happy… he wanted it to stay that way, "You're one of the things I fight for.." he whispered before putting it away and setting off running again.

888

Shadow was at the foot of the mountain carefully scanning the mountain till he saw th glint up the mountain, and a smirk came across his face, "Finally." he leapt up the mountain, his foot easily finding landings to launch off of so it only took moments for him to come to the actual tree.

The tree was black and its leaves were silver, normally a pretty combination but now her was just looking through the branches anxiously, "come on come on." finally his hand brushed against something fleshy and he grabbed it instantly and pulled it down, "Disgusting looking, foul smelling. This must be it." he felt a satisfied smile come across his face, all he had to do now was get back to Claire and she'd be fine-

Right behind his head he heard a hiss of energy and leapt up, moving the fruit to a compartment in his shoes. No sooner did he jump did the tree explode into fire. He skidded up the mountain, looking around urgently "Where-" there was another hissing and he slid out of the way again ,"Show yourself!" he yelled then a voice , a voice that send terror into his heart, one he had been hoping to never hear again as the mist formed in front of him

"My My Shadow, I would hope that after all this time you'd' be happier to hear ,but I suppose its just in your nature." Mephiles stepped out of the darkness, arms crossed and eyes smirking at Shadows shocked face

"But how? I killed you years ago-"

"You thought you killed me, it took me a while but I was finally able to pull myself back together. And I thought, now I'm back, why not visit the one man who gave the most amount of hell?" he shot another energy ball but Shadow deflected it with the back of his hand, the skin tingling, "That and I am here to get information."

"On what?" but Shadow felt , in his heart, that he knew….

"6 months ago you met a man named Remus , a dull fellow, and the child he had come into possession of. Unfortunately we killed him before we could find out where he had put her." he raised his hand to point at Shadow, "But YOU were there that night. You've seen the child and you know where she is."

"Even if I did I wouldn't tell you." he sent green Chaos Energy down his fists, "Believe me, I'd rather die.'

"OH I was so hoping for that answer!" within a moment of ending his sentence he slammed his body into Shadow, sending him sliding back on the rough mountain rock, Shadow leapt off the ground and flipped over Mephiles and twisted in the air ,"CHAOS SPEAR!" He shouted, the green energy shot down but Mephiles slid out fo the way and leapt up, aiming a fist at Shadows ribs, "Dark Eruption." a fountain of dark energy shot out of Mephiles hands and aimed at Shadow, who twisted out fo the way again and brought his fists together and slammed them down onto of Mephiles head, sending him flying into the mountain. Shadow floated there for a few moments before he started to land , "Get up Mephiles, no way that killed you-"

"And you'd be right.' a hand of dark energy shot out of the creator, grabbing Shadow around the chest. Instantly he grabbed at the fingers, trying to break free. But his massive strength held no candle to the power of the darkness. Mephiles rose out of the crater his eyes smiling darkly at the struggling man, "OH? Isn't' that cute, if you tell me where the child is now, I can spare you the pain that is to come.'

Shadow just glared,  
"Go to hell." but that just made the look in Mephiles eyes grow wilder,

"Very well."

The hand slammed into the mountain, the rock cracking against Shadows body, once again Shadow was yanked into the air and swung into the mountain again. Pain shot through Shadow as he did his best not to give Mephiles the satisfaction of cringing and kept his glare, again and again he was slammed into the mountain till finally Shadow blacked out from the pain, slumping in the hand he fell to the ground, he heard Mephiles come over and kick him over with his shoe, "Come on Shadow, just tell me what I want to know, it'll be easier on us both and you know it." he suddenly paused, "What's' this?"

Shadow felt Mephiles fingers brush on his chest pulling out, to his horror, his Secret Chest, "NO!" he shouted in panic leaping to his feet he lunged at Mephiles but the hand just shot out and grabbed him around the chest again.

Mephiles watched him amused as Shadow fought against the hand with greater urgency, "Now now Shadow, do you have a secret? What could you possibly have inside this chest that would make you panic so much?" he grinned then opened the chest, his eyes widening before growing into a even greater hungry smiled,'" SO you took in the little girl did you? How sweet, this makes things so much easier for me, and whose this?" his eyes moved to the other person and his face lit up even more as he roared in laughter," Of course how could I forget THIS lovely face! I thought I killed her months ago, I guess freaks aren't that easy to kill now are they?" he looked at Shadows horrified face, "Then again, Dr. Finitevus did mention a white haired girl with you, so where is she know?"

Before Shadow could stop himself he glanced in the direction of the city, Mephiles face grew even more as he suddenly disappeared, releasing Shadow who fell to his knees, "Wait!" he yelled futilely. Without anytime to waste he leapt down the mountain, his famous speed kicking in as he ran as fast he could, ' Claire has no idea!" he cursed himself , "why did I look over here?" within seconds he was in the city and he saw the small house he had left Claire in and his heart felt relieved, suddenly there was another hissing sound and the house exploded into flames, black energy emerging over it and debris flying everywhere. Shadow slid to a stop in horror," no….."he fell to his knees, "Cl-Claire…" there was no way she could of survived such a violent explosion, and he couldn't' stop it….

He heard laugher erupt behind him and leapt to his feet, Mephiles stoop not 3 feet behind him, his eyes wild ,"Look at it Shadow! Fire always has a special aurora when its being fueled by human flesh, don't you agree?"

Rage consumed Shadow, '"YOU BASTAGE!" chaos energy flew to his finger tips but something caught around his throat, reaching down his body and over his hands, smothering the flames and dragging him to the ground again, his body weighed down by the dark energy and he could hear Mephiles laughing again, "Aw are you angry? Did I take away your toy Shadow?" he heard Mephiles start walking over his hand raised, "You can be with her again Shadow, I promise you that, all you have to do is tell me where the child is-"

Suddenly a gunshot went off and a bullet slammed into Mephiles right hand, making him cry out, Shadow looked around urgently ,"it cant' be-"

Out of the shadows of the buildings Claire stumbled out, a rough form of a shot gun in her hand and a large coat (probably one she found) over her shaking weak body. Her face was drained and pale but her face was determined as she raised the shot gun to again, "Try that again and I'll blow your head off.'

At first Mephiles looked shocked but that slid back into a satisfied smile as his hand healed over, " You're still alive, good, I would hate the loose the opportunity to kill you slowly."

"Keep talking bud, I'll be more then happy to make a hole in your head." her face was stone cold and Shadow couldn't tell what she was thinking. But he now felt frantic

"Claire get out here before he kills you-"

"Oh please , as if this guy could land a hand on me."

Mephiles face seemed to twitch, "You do not think I have the sufficient amount of power?"

"I'm saying you have a worse shot then a blind rooster." she raised the gun again, her face strained but sneered," You couldn't even kill me, a girl with wolf ears."

"As if there would be any point in killing a girl whose obviously knocking on deaths door already?" his face filled with fake sympathy. Turning his back to Shadow ,"Would you like me to put you out of your misery?"

"I'd like to see you try it bitch."

Shadow felt even more frantic as Mephiles laughed wildly, glancing back on the red and black hedgehog he sneered, "I can see why you keep her company, such a brave witty beauty. I might have to keep her as a slave." then looked back on Claire, his face cold," After I show her whose superior."

Claire coked the gun," bring it."

Shadow cried out,' CLAIRE NO-'

But it was too late, within a flash Mephiles had launched forward and Grabbed Claire, but, she pressed her hands against Mephiles side and Mephiles body shuddered for a moment then slump over her. The darkness that had covered Shadow released him as he ran over confused, "Claire what-"

"Get him off the island now, throw him as far into the sky as you can.' Claire collapsed on the around holding her ribs, pulling Shadows Safety Chest away," Do it."

Shadow hesitated then nodded, grabbing Mephiles body, noting tow puncture wounds in his chest, and ran around the island till he found a ledge then ran to the center, charging forward, when he reached the ledge he spun on his leg and threw Mephiles with a roar, the Dark flying through the air till he was out of sight.

Not letting himself take relief in this he ran back to the city, Claire still sitting there, head resting on the building behind him, her groggy face looked at his ," is he-"

"He's gone" he knelt down, "How, why weren't you in the house? How did you make him pass out? What-"

The girl laughed weakly, closing her eyes, "I was bored, so I explored the city for a little bit….that's when I came across a military building and found these." slipping off the coat Shadow saw two spring loaded knives on her wrists, the blades were dipped in something purple, "What's that-"

"Record Fruit. It erases your memory of the last 12 hours. I figured something had happened when I heard all the explosions coming from the mountain, I figured it wasn't anything good so I thought I'd become prepared." she laughed weakly then she fell forward again. Shadow quickly caught her and pulled her into sitting position, hand shaking he pulled the fruit free and held it to her, "Here take it." his voice soft and comforting.

Claire hesitated then took it, "Thanks." and swallowed in. after a few seconds Claire turned her head away from Shadow, hacking uncontrollably arms around her chest as she coughed over and over. He grabbed around the stomach to hold her up, was the medicine not working? He thought urgently, was she having some reaction o it!

Finally Claire put her hand to her mouth and stopped and hung there for a few moments. Then she looked at her hand shocked then back at Shadow.

"what came out?"

Claire, shakily held out her hand to show him tiny tear drop shaped eggs, all see-through that had something inside of them. Shadow felt speechless for a few moments, then confirmed it," Octopus eggs. You had octopus eggs in your lungs?"

The girl laughed weakly, "It explains why I was in so much pain." she laughed for a moment. But Shadow didn't find it so funny, but a overwhelming sense of relief came over him and before he could stop himself his arms pulled her into a tight hug, his arms around her waist and his head by hers. He felt her freeze against him, confused, "Shadow-"

"Thank you…thank you so much Claire…what you did with Mephiles memory…. "his voice became thick,' "HE had seen Saris' picture in my Safety Chest and found out where she was…he was going o go after her but. you…in your bravery….you saved her….."he hugged her tightly. He felt her relax under him and wrap her arms around his chest, her head resting on him,

"You know …you give nice hugs Shadow…."

He laughed slightly, "Enjoy it…you've earned it…"

8888888888

Finally the Chaotix helicopter set down. Sonic following the landing, and turned back towards Knuckles, "And you're sure they're here?"

"Yeah, Vec says there are two heat signatures coming from the island. Right inside the city. Just follow the watches directions."

Sonic looked back towards the buildings, 'Hard to believe anyone lived here' he thought to himself.' He knew Knuckles would get a kick out of exploring these ruins but right now all that mattered was finding Shadow and Claire. He set off running into the city, following the watch instructions till he came across a small building, the area surrounding was covered in black soot marks, "What happened here!" he asked himself before calling, "Shadow! Claire!" he heard some noises coming from inside the building and listened carefully to a set of incoming footsteps and two voices….._arguing_

"Put me down right now!"

"like hell I am! You're still coughing up Octopus eggs and you're' still feverish!"

"Bullet! I feel fine you're' the one whose sweating bullets!"

"Its 80 degrees out here who wouldn't be sweating!" demanded Shadows voice.

Sonic felt his ears droop in confusion, "Shadow? Claire?"

Finally they came out of the shadows, Shadow carrying Claire in his arms (seeming to be fighting him every step of the way) walked right past Sonic, "Helicopters this way right?"

"Um yeah, what's this about octopus eggs?"

"I'll explain later." whit that he walked right into the helicopter and laid Claire on the med bed. Standing up and crossing his arms, "was THAT SO bad?" he demanded.

At first Claire stuck her tongue out at him then crossed her arms too, "You're hug was nicer."

"Its not like I've never carried you before , SEESH!"

Sonic walked in after them, his head spinning, "What…what's going on?" he asked but they didn't answer. He felt Knuckles tap him on the shoulder an turned to look at him, "what?"

"its best we leave them alone."

"why-"

"Just trust me." grabbing Sonics arm, Knuckles drug him into the cock pit.

At first the two friends just glared at each other angrily but then Shadows face broke in a small smile, before walking over o the shelves that lined the opposite wall. Claire sat up confused, "what are-"

Shadow pulled down a black duffle bag and walked back over, pulling out a white sweat pants and Claries military jacket, "Sonic must of brought our clothes from the beach. I know you're still cold so pull them on." then pulled out a black track suit with red streaks, and started pulling them on. Claire hesitated before doing the same the warmth and familiarity of the jacket spreading over her and she hugged it to her body and sighed with relief. Opening her eyes she saw Shadow (his safety chest back hidden in his chest) and started walking back towards the cock pit. Before Claire could stop herself her hand shot out ad grabbed his hand. He looked back slightly confused, "What's wrong?"

Claire paused then drooped her head as though sad, "Nothing." the truth was, Claire hated being in places that reminded her of hospitals (even in the small helicopter) she wanted him to stay with her but then felt that was selfish of her so she let go of his hand, "I'm sorry its nothing." and occupied herself with looking at her Safety Chest, embarrassed. She felt at hand fall on her shoulder and roughly shove her into the opposite wall, which made her yelp in shock.

"Well scoot over if you don't want me shoving you!" demanded Shadow sitting by her, he crossed legs

"What are-"

"You're not the only one that's tired, and this is the only bed I figured I'd get a few minutes of shut eye while I bug you." he crossed his arms, resting his head against the back wall, "You should get some sleep too. Its creepy being in a med-helicopter, especially piloted by a Croc idiot."

Claire paused then felt happiness in her chest then rested her head on his shoulder (finding no protest from him) then closed her eyes, drifting off , but not before feeling a blanket being pulled over her which made a smile blossom on her sleeping face, "Thanks Shadow…."

"Yeah yeah ,it's the least I can do."

Ugh more serious, need humor! It will return! In the mean time, please stop by a poll I made up ,it was something I was curious about. If you don't its ok, but remember its free!

Ugh more serious, need humor! It will return! In the mean time, please stop by a poll I made up ,it was something I was curious about. If you don't its ok, but remember its free!


	14. Knights and Rings

Claire sat on the edge of Sari's bed, listening carefully she could barely hear the voice of Shadow down the hall, having been on the phone for a while now. And, though she couldn't make out the words, she knew he was angry about something. But she also knew it wouldn't bring it into over onto his family (something he had learned just recently) looking over at Sari, who lay in the bed, she patted the small child's head gently, feeling a warmth come from it, "Looks like you're fever isn't getting any better sweety." She smiled sadly.

Sari just smiled back, blankets up to her chin and a small rabbit doll sticking out of the blankets by her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get sick, especially when you're sick." Referring to the fact that both Shadow and Claire were on medical leave since they were stranded. While the injuries themselves weren't' that bad, they did like taking advantage of this opportunity. That is until Sari was sent home from school a few days ago with a sore throat and fever. Since then Shadow and Claire had done everything to make her comfortable but nothing seemed to cease the reign of fever. This was especially hard on Shadow, the idea that he couldn't' protect his little girl from something. That and the constant phone-calls he got from Sonic since they woke up that morning. Just what was Sonic so desperate the talk about?

But Claire quickly put it aside, right now she needed to take care of Sari, she put a hand on her head, "Maybe if you got some sleep you'd feel better."

"But I can't… my throat bothers me too much…"

"IS there anything we can do to help?"

Sari, thought for a moment, then looked up at Claire, "Well, when I was with Remy, and I got sick, he'd tell me a bed time story to help me sleep."

"Oh?" that didn't seem too hard, already her mind was going through all the books they had

"But this one would always be special."

"How?"

"IT would be one that he made up."

Claire froze, slightly horrified then hastily put on a smile , "I'll be right back sweety." She walked out of the room and ran down the hall to Shadows room.

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"Come on Shadow; at least come with us to the party. PLEASE! Vanilla said she can watch Sari!" came the annoying voice of Sonic the Hedgehog from Shadows phone.

"I said no Faker, besides Saris' sick so I don't' want to leave her. Even if that wasn't' the case, I STILL wouldn't' go. Just like last year and the year before that."

"Shadow! Today is special though! It's your b-"

Shadow heard the door open behind him and slammed the phone down urgently; Claire looked at him with a confused face, "Shadow? What was that?"

"Nothing, Sonic just challenging me to DDR." He looked at the phone again, slightly relieved, he didn't want Claire hearing what today was. But then looked back at her, worried, "IS Sari doing any better?"

"Sorry Shadow..."

The black and red hedgehog sighed sadly, moving he sat on his bed and rested his tired elbows on his knees. He heard Claire move beside him and wrap a arm around his shoulders. On instinct he put a arm around her waist and looked over at her, and smirked slightly, "You've gotten shorter."

"You're full of it." She laughed a little, which made Shadow feel slightly better, "You told me before Mobians don't stop growing for a long time. You're just finally catching up to me shorty. "

Which, was the truth, at this time Shadow could almost look Claire in the eyes without tilting his head, it was a nice feeling and it cheered him up for a moment before he looked away, the burden on his heart again, "What am I going to do Claire? I can't even help my own child sleep…"

"Well, she told me something, she said that when she was sick with Remus, that reading a story to her always put her to sleep."

He looked over at her, ears perked, "Really? Then let's get a book and-"

"But there's a catch."

"Of course, what is it this time?"

"It has to be a story that we make up."

Shadow froze, feeling slightly horrified, "A story we make up!"

"Yeah, it can't' be that hard-"

"Have you ever tried coming up with a story on the spot?" he stood up, 'It's impossible! Writers work years to make a DRAFT of a story, and we're supposed to make up one on the spot?" he gave a loud growl hand to his face as he rubbed his temples, what to do what to do…

"Well…..what if it wasn't a entirely made up story?"

Shadow turned to look at Claire, confused, "What do you mean?"

"What if we take one of our missions stories and just jazz it up?"

"How?"

"I don't know, put it in a different time or situation….like….." she looked at Shadow , a grin on her face, a good thing for him," Here!" she ran right past him and out the room. Shadow , confused at first followed. Then he saw Claire sitting on a chair by Saris' bed. Sari looked at him with a look of excitement, "You're going to tell me a story?"

Before he could answer, Claire said, "WE are, and I really think you'll like it." she looked back on Shadow, indicating for him to sit by her. Which he did, grudgingly. He looked over at Claire, arms crossed. But she was unfazed as she looked back over to Sari.

"Yes, Once upon a time-"

"does it HAVE to start with that?" asked Shadow a bit aggravated, but was rewarded with a elbow to the stomach

"Like I was saying, Once upon a time in a far away kingdom called the…um…..Mobia…..and it was protected by the Castle of GUN, who held the lands most powerful warriors. But none to compare to the awesome teamwork of Sir Lancelot and Chevaleresse Guinevere .They fought together, they even lived together, taking care of a little girl named Diana. They all lived together happily but then…one day a mission- I mean quest came from the King Tower….."

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Sir Lancelot Shadow walked down the stone hallways of Castle GUN. His shoulders covered by gold armor and a red cloak flowed down his back. His boots were grey lined with reed with gold rings around the ankles and a helmet on his head the shutter down to cover his eyes (but he could still see) and silver chest armor to protect his ribs. His leather gauntlets lined with metal hung on his hand, the his fingers drumming on the hilt of Melethling, a sword personally passed onto him by King Tower, but at the moment the two weren't seeing eye to eye, due to extenuating circumstances. but he loved the artwork that went into his sword, the red hilt with gold lining that twisted in the shape of a dragon, the Asian symbol for luck. The thought of that made him scoff, "As though I need luck."

"Shadow! Shadow!"

Turning he was rewarded with the sight of Chevaleresse Guinevere Claire, she wore black , worn leather pants, knee high metal boots, a brown elbow length tunic reaching just past her waist and held in place by a black leather belt, her hands bore black leather gauntlets with metal on top. She wore a visor like Shadow (it being up for now) and a white cloak flowed down from her silver shoulder guards. Her white hair reaching her shoulders and her face smiling. ON her waist hung the famous twin blades, with blue hilts and curved blade.

Shadow raised his visor, "What is it now?"

"Nice to see Thou too, the King has a mission for us-"

At the Kings name Shadow growled, "I refuse to take audience with that lumpish tardy-gaited skainsmate!"

"Hold your tongue Shadow! Such language will get you thrown into the dungeon and beaten! He already knows how you feel so he's sent someone else to tell of you mission."

"Who?"

"Dungeon keeper Rat-Nerd."

This once again brought Shadow into a growl, if there was anyone he detested as much as the King it was the Kings lackey, the Rat-Nerd was one of the lowliest and disgusting creatures of all the land, a lame legged creature with more brain then brawn, he crept around the dungeons with words no one could understand. But Shadow just assumed it was better then the King himself.

Speaking of lame-legged. The creature slid up to them, his beady eyes glaring on the two friends, "The King has a urgent mission for thou."

Shadow crossed his arms, "So what is it?"

"The Guardian called us not a hour ago, something is draining the Master Emerald of energy, the Island is rapidly dropping altitude and the Guardians are doing all they can to keep the island up but its only a matter of time…..and we are trying to evacuate Downunda but we don't know if we'll get everyone out before…." he let it drift off….

Shadow saw, out of the corner of his eyes, Claries eyes become slightly horrified and eh couldn't blame her, the thought of all the lives in danger even made him uneasy. Reaching over he touched her hand then looked at the Rat Nerd, "What is needed of us?"

'The King wants thou to go to the Guardians, get information then do what thou can to stop this. But before that thou must stop at the armory-"

"Oh please we have our own Blacksmith, we'll be out in a minute."

The Rat Nerd nodded and limped away. Shadow looked at Claire, who had regained her confident eyes, "ready to go?"

Claire nodded. Shadow bent over and quickly hugged her around the knees (so she was sitting on his shoulder) and ran right out of GUN castle with a huge gust of wind. Through the dirt street and out of the city and into the forest. Shadow knew of the Blacksmiths location by heart and arrived at the large barn in moments, a home to the Merry Men of Mobia and Knothole-Wood. These were the original 'Freedom Fighters' of the area before GUN came in. Shadow set Claire down and walked into the large dark barn, knocking on the side, "Blacksmith Tails, are you hither?"

From inside they could hear the sound of many things falling over before a candle was lit, revealing the barn was lined with hundreds of swords and weapons of all with unique designs and beautiful work. Blacksmith Tails, a young fox wearing a brown vest, walked up to them, his face smeared with soot and grease but his face ever optimistic, "Hey guys! Lancelot! Guinevere!"

Shadow crossed his arms, "Its Sir Shadow to thou. "

"Right right, what can I help thou with?"

Shadow reached and pulled out his sword, nodding for Claire to do the same, "WE need our swords sharpened for our quest."

The young fox took the swords , "Ah, I remember them well, Melethling." he took Shadows sword in his hands, "One of the finest swords ever forged, with metal melted down and mixed with the scales of a dragon. I spent many good nights on this sword making it to perfection."

Shadow smirked, of course his sword was the best. Then Tails looked over to Claries twin swords, 'But Melethling has competition with the Sacred Twins: Artemis and Apollo. These two came from melting down a Silver Star that had crashed to the earth, as light as rain but as strong as justice."

Claire looked over at Shadow smirking, but he just grunted, "Its not a competition." he growled. Then to Tails, "How long till its ready?"

"Along with all your other weapons? I'd say about half an hour.'

Claire nodded and looked back over to Shadow, "we have time, lets go say bye to Sari'

Shadow nodded back, this seemed like a mission that could take a while to finish. And if they left without saying bye to her it would crush her. So once again picking up Claire, he set off running again, this time to a hill, but unbeknownst to many, there was a house under the hill, which held the Royal Guard, a 'Chaotix' bunch who helped Lord Knuckles protect the Master Emerald. Outside he saw a young Mighty and Diana Sari playing out in the field, chasing each other in their imaginary games. But as soon as Sari saw them run up her face lit up, "Father! Mother!" her tiny body wore a tan dress with a black ribbon that wrapped around her waist, her long black and blue hair tied in pigtails as she ran over to them. Shadow smiled, setting Claire on her feet and picking up the excited child, " I missed thou too My Angel." hugging her tightly ,then Sari pulled away slightly, her eyes confused and sad,

"Thou is going on another quest are you not?"

"yes…but it wont take long I promise….." he brushed the hair out of her face gently, "We'll be back before you know it."

The tiny girl nodded wiping her eyes and looked over at Claire, "is thou going to0 Mother?"

Shadow flinched slightly, he wasn't too sure how he felt about Sari calling Claire 'Mother' but it meant that she at least saw Claire as a role-model. And it was important for little girls to have a mother figure right?

Claire nodded kissing the child on the head, "But like thou father said, we wont be gone for long."

Sari nodded again wrapping her tiny arms around Claire and Shadows neck hugging tightly as though afraid to let them go or they would disappear. Shadow wrapped his arm around his child gently, then (after thinking about it) wrapped his free arm around Claire who tensed for a moment before doing the same with her free arm so the small (odd) family was in a nice hug.

After a while ,against Shadows heart, he let Sari go and stood up, pulling Claire with him, "I'm sorry Sari, but we have to get going…"

The brave child nodded and let go stepping away to stand with Mighty who held her hand gently. The two children waving sadly as the two left, walking. Shadow felt his heart become heavy and sad, his poor child put up with a lot more then she deserved, but he felt a deep set pride inside him for his Angel….he felt a hand tap his and looked over to see Claire looking at him sympathetically and gave him a comforting smile, as though guessing what was on his mind. Shadow found himself smiling back weakly. " Yeah thou don't need to say it."

"I'm not going to ,but I am shocked that thou didn't attack the young man for holding thy daughters hand."

"He is young…he doesn't know better…..YET"

By the time they got back to the Blacksmith, Tails was standing outside, the swords wrapped up into cloths, "It surprised me to see thy mighty Knights walking instead of riding on the wind like thou normally does."

Shadow just ignored him and pulled out the packages, his Melethling sword shining grander then it ever had before, a satisfied smile on his face, "Very good Blacksmith, and my Power?"

Tails nodded, handing over a second cloth wrapped weapon, "But be more careful with it."

But Shadow was already tuning him out, eyes the weapon he pulled it over and carefully unwrapped it to reveal a long gold spear, decorated with white lines and designs it was Shadows most prized weapon, one he used above all else, his 'Chaos Spear.' he put it in its normal sheath and set it under his cape, it becoming virtually invisible from sight. HE glanced over at Claire who, after paying the Blacksmith, took out her own wrapped weapons. Looking over her swords fondly she put them away, before opening another one, 4 hand held crossbows lined side by side. She took out two of them and tossed them to Shadow, " Here thou will need them."

He caught them , smiling and set them on his side before noticing Claire still had another package left, "what's that?"

Claire gave him a look of pure evil smile then threw the cloth aside, two axes lay there, carefully carved from stone with ancient Norse writing along the handle and blade, which shone wickedly in the early morning sun. Claire smiled grew even more as the hoisted the axes into the air, holding them by the hilts she expertly swung them into the air and spun, catching them again and swinging them around, the blade so thin it made a hissing sound before finally crossing the axes in front of her, looking over at Shadows awestricken face, "Well? What does thou think?"

Shadow paused for a moment, then held his hand out, "Hand them hither," he ordered

"what?"

"I've decided they're too much for thou and should only be used by a Ultimate Knight such as me-'

"Oh thou is so full of it! I ordered these things weeks ago thou Ultimate Pain!"

"So, thou refuses?"

"Hell-Fire yes!"

Shadow crossed his arms, face angry ( a face Claire had dubbed weeks as his pout )as he glared her down, as though expecting her to give up any second now. Claire simply crossed her arms also, glaring back. The two "friends" continued to glare each other as hard as they could while a confused and awkward Tails looked on, unsure of whether to interfere or get a camera.  
Finally Shadow rolled his eyes ,"Fine! Thou Stubborn Lass!" eh grabbed his sword and stormed out. Claire smiled satisfied and sheathed the axes under her cloak while giggling happily. Then she heard the stable doors slam open, and Shadow yelled, "But then I can drive thy Harley Davidson!" heran into the stable, appearing a few seconds later grinning as he road the great black horse out of the stables, its sides marked with a spiral of red and the reins working like magic under his expert hands. He enjoyed the outraged look on Claries face when she ran out the door to see him riding the mighty beast. Pulling on the reins, the great horse, Harley Davidson, reared back on two legs and Shadow grinned wildly as the horse touched back down, the horses coat was shiny black with red familiar spin streaks, "Well? How does thy Lady feel now?"

"SIR Shadow that is MY Harley Davidson."

"True., but thou would have to bring me to the King himself before I would giveth up. I'm driving and that's final!" but when Claire crossed her arms again (A face Shadow had dubbed weeks ago as her pout). It only made Shadow grin wilder , "Its either thou sits on the back or sits under the horse, its up to thou."

Claire blinked then walked on over, holding her hand out, 'Just pull me up thou beast."

Shadow grinned, pulled her up, Claire settling down behind him, arms around his chest as she cussed profusely, Shadow, laughing wildly, reared up the horse again and started riding. Leaving Tails very confused.

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"I have a question!" Sari asked, holding her hand up

Claire blinked, "Yes?"

"why are Lancelot and Guinevere fighting? Aren't they friends?"

Shadow looked over at Claire smirking then over at Sari," Well Angel, their friendship was different then others, but…" he put a arm around Claries shoulder, smiling, "That's what makes their friendship so strong…" then glanced back at the tray of food that had been set out by Sari's bed, "Here you eat and when you're done we'll continue with the rest of the story."

Instantly the little girl started to eat with ravenous haste, and the two friends left the room. As soon as they left the room Shadow grinned at Claire, "So Lancelot and Guinevere?"

"Well, they are the only ones I've heard of in King Arthur's stories, and since Arthur and Guinevere are married, I thought it would be weird to put them as us in the story. After all Lancelot and Guinevere barely come up together. At least that's' what you've told me."

"That's true." the two walked down the stairs into the kitchen, Shadow sat on a chair while Claire looked through the cabinets( to find food to prepare for herself and Shadow.). Looking by the cabinet door, Shadow saw A hamper full of Claries laundry, he saw a pair of her cameo pants hanging out, he quickly pulled it out (thinking about throwing it at her out of boredom) when he noticed how thin they looked. He quickly felt the fabric between his forefinger and thumb to feel how worn it was and it only refined his suspicions. Shadow looked over at Claire, "What happened to your clothes?"

'Huh?" Claire looked back on him, cooking bacon, "What about them?"

"They're so worn and thin, you should by yourself new ones."

"Well, I can't afford it right now. I've been saving up."

"Are you saving up to fix your bike?" referring to how it was now coughing up smoke and was jerkier then the Red Terd.

"Its fine Shadow, like I said I've been saving up." she sat down in front of him and handed him a plate of bacon sandwich before picking up her own, "Its fine." she repeated

Shadow paused then started eating his sandwich, he thought Claire made a fair amount of money, at least enough to pay for clothes and fix her bike. (she put in her own amount for Sari's college fund). But it made him wonder where it was all going towards? Was someone threatening her? The thought of this made him growl lightly (not enough to alert anyone, but just to momentarily choke on his sandwich). That's when he heard Sari call from upstairs" I'm done eating!"

Shadow looked at Claire, "I'll go keep her company while you eat." so he went back upstairs, opening the door to Saris' room, he saw her sitting up with a happy look on her face which, in turn, made him grin, "What is it?" he sat down on the chair by her bed feeling her forehead to find no change. His face fell and he closed his eyes sadly.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah Angel?"

"Happy Birthday!"

Eyes shooting open he was welcomed to a large coloring of Shadow wearing a birthday hat standing on a huge black and red birthday cake. In the picture Shadow was holding Claire and Sari's hand while they all hand smiles way to big for their faces. On the top read "Happy Birthday Daddy!". Shadow smirked slightly and took it and smiled at his beaming child, kissing her on the forehead, "Thank you Sari its just what I wanted." But then became confused, "But how did you-"

The window flew open to reveal Sonic standing there on a 2 story ladder, "Hello!"

The moment immediately was set into the flames as he ran over to the window, grabbing the handles of the ladder he held it away from the house so it was tilting. Sonic, frantic, grabbed the ladder, 'Shadow!"

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"What-gives-you-the-right-to-tell-people-about-my-birthday?"

Sonic ducked his head close, "But-But its your birthday, you never celebrate it because you don't have family to celebrate it with but now you have a whole family to celebrate it with!"

"You didn't tell Claire did you?" he demanded. When Sonic didn't answer he shook the ladder, "Did you?"

"No No I promise!"

Shadow heard footsteps coming and leaned in close to Sonic, "and if you ever come into my daughters room by a ladder again I WILL kill you!" he shoved the handles forward and slammed with window shut (muffling Sonic scream as he went flying into the trees. He put Sari's picture under one of her teddy bears before running back to his seat just as Claire came in, looking at Shadow suspiciously,' who did you just injure?"

"what? Me? Oh please, why would I do that," Shadow looked from teh window to Claire, putting on a fake smile," There's no one here. Hee hee….heh…,"His face turned serious again,"..just continue the story."

Claire rolled her eyes before sitting down (earning her a yank on the ear), "Ok….where were we,….."

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Shadow rode up the bridge that connected to floating island looking at their surroundings through his visor. "Hmph, doesn't so bad…" he glanced back at Claire ,who also had her visor on shrugged,

"We need to be careful."

Shadow just shrugged, "If thou says so-"

Suddenly the ground started to shake under them. The horse, afraid reared back, the sudden shift in weight sent the two flying off Shadow landed with a thud, his metal helmet cracking against the ground and the dust rising into his mask. Coughing he drew his visor back and tried to suck in the fresh air, over to his left he saw Claire sitting up slowly, he did the same, "Thou ok!" he called over

Claire flashed him a thumbs up before scrambling to her feet, the earth shaking under them. Shadow did the same running over he lifted her onto his shoulder and ran the rest of the way, all the while thinking ,'are they under attack?' he thought frantically. Finally the temple came into view, completely immersed in green energy, which flowed from all over the area. Shadow only grew his pace and ran to the steps. Locke, immediately ran out to greet them, his face worn and tired, "Its about dam time you two came."

Claire slid off of Shadows shoulder, and ran up to him catching him by the shoulders,

"Guardian Locke, please explain what's going on."

Shadow ran up the rest of the way, he had to asses the situation, he saw the surviving Guardians all gathered around the Master Emerald, which was now fluctuating quickly. Shadow squinted his eyes and pulled his visor down, "Lord Knuckles!" He called the he saw the echidna wearing red leg armor and wrapped around his chest , his gold helmet tossed to the side as he watched one of his ancestors futilely chant

"The servers are the seven chaos, chaos in enriched by the heart…"

Suddenly the place exploded into rapid arrow fire, looking up Shadow could see men in black cloaks flying down on dragon made of metal, fire scorching alter in a attempt to scare back the echidnas ,especially the old purple one who was currently trying to keep the island up. Shadow growled heavily and grabbed his hilt, but before he could leapt forward to defend them but Knuckles grabbed Shadow around the neck and threw him back, his sword at as though daring him to come at them again," Shadow….stay….there."

Shadow shocked and confused gripped Lord Knuckles shoulder, "My Lord, what's happening?"

"The Master Emerald is loosing power by the hour, we're barely keeping the energy from escaping and the Dark Legion keeps bombarding us with fire and dragons, we keep chanting but-" suddenly the island dipped again crazily and Knuckles turned to the alter to see the echidna on his knees, "Grandfather Thunderhawk!"

The old purple whither echidna grunted, "th-The user-li-lives to unify-u-unity-"

Spectre, dressed in black robes quickly ran forward, pushing the weak old man back into Knuckles, "the servers life to unify the chaos!" beginning the chant once again and the ground stopped shaking. Shadow looked at exhausted old man in Knuckles arms, and felt a great amount of pity, admiring them for their dedication to keep the island up and save the people. He closed his eyes, focusing as hard as he could ,blocking out the noise and hectic, until he could see a faint line of energy flowing from the Master Emerald floating in a path away from the alter, "I found the trail that the energy is going, we'll be back soon I promise."

"Please hurry ,my Grandfathers are strong but I don't know how much more my family can take."

Shadow nodded, then turned to leave but saw Claire standing in the archway to the alter, her face fixed firmly on Thunderhawk and a look in her eyes that was full of sadness. Shadow ran forward, "Claire we have to get moving."

But Claire didn't seem to hear him, for she grabbed the hilts of her swords and started to run forward, a true woman of the people but Shadow reached to grab her but she was already out of grasp, "Claire!" but she had already disappeared into the battle and he hissed venomously, leaping in with his sword drawn. The sword drawn as the robotic Legionnaires leapt at him. But with his cold blade he struck them down easy, but found no joy as his blade flew threw the air, finally he aw Claire taking down a robotic dragon, and drawing out her crossbow. He lunged forward his arm grabbing her around the waist, his free arm keepign a crossbow otu and shooting down Legionaires that leapt at the, dragging her back behind the shelter of the boulder, she turned top face him eyes blazing, "What's wrong with thou? Why art thou stopping me-"

"Claire WE cant help them now, we have to go to the source-"

"We can't just leave them! They're suffering, its our duty as knights to protect them!"

"I understand, but a knight is also loyal to the mission. We have to leave." he looked into her eyes, willing her to understand that he knew her pain. It was the pain he currently shared.

Being the Knight that she was she immediately nodded. Shadow quickly set her on his shoulder once again and ran for the pathway, he knew Claire was full of sadness, he was too. But there was a difference between these two and other soldiers. These two refused to cry, no matter what, to them, to cry was opt admit defeat. And that was the one thing they couldn't do.

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Shadow felt Claire rest her head on his, which was normal (if not comforting). He looked ahead though, his mind set on the mission. The memory of the burning alter and suffering Guardians heavy on his mind, as it was on Claries. The area around them blurring the ground with the trees but he barely noticed as he focused on the faint trail of chaos energy as hard as he could. Tuning out the world…he had to help….he had to stop the Dark Legion..

Suddenly something blue slammed into his body with great speed, Shadow felt his body become unbalanced as he fell towards the ground, instantly he grabbed Claire and held her to his chest as his back collided with the ground, he could feel his sword press against his leg and every rock slam against his armor, eventually slowing to a stop, at first Shadow lay there panting, holding Claire close trying to get his world back into focus as colors flashed before his eyes. "what-what-"

Sonic the hedgehog, wearing a gold glove and rustic sword stood over them ,his golden visor currently raised so he could smirk at them," Hiya, I thought I wouldn't be able to stop you-"

Rage consumed Shadow, "You." he put Claire aside and leapt forward, swing Melethling down to crush Sonic in the head but the blue annoyance brought his sword up in retaliation, despite the pressure Shadow was putting on his sword Sonic grinned at him through clenched teeth,'" Nice to see you too Faker-"

"What the hell is wrong with thou Knave?" he used the sword to shove Sonic away then launched himself at him again, the ferocity of the swords caused sparks to fly through the air" You could have killed Claire!" he brought the sword down again, 'You could of killed me!"

Sonic slid forward and , in a cheating move, socked Shadow right in the stomach. A blinding pain shot through him as metal slammed into his stomach. Shadow gasped loudly falling on his knees, arm around his stomach as he coughed uncontrollably. There was a flash of white as Claire leapt in front of Claire, twin swords out as she stood between the crippled knight and the loosely dressed one, "What do you want Sonic?"

"Oh come on Claire, I thought you'd be the last one who wanted to start a fight, you were always the rational one in your little couple weren't you?" but then he sighed, "I saw what happened on Angel Island, and I saw how they made you leave…"

Shadow heard Claire walk up to him and felt her arms around him, trying to support him. Shadow could feel her arms shake around him, "Its what they wanted…"her voice was sad

But the stubborn knight didn't want to listen and growled heavily, gripping Claries arm with a harder grip then he intended, "We don't have time for this ,Blue Knave, We were doing fine until-"

"Fine? You were doing fine?' Sonic crossed his arms slightly, sheathing his sword and walking over to the tree's, right where Shadow had been running., "Then get over here.'

Shadow growled, normally he would never take orders from a Knight with no master, but he stood up, and limped over, as Sonic grew back the vines, Shadow was filled with horror as he witnessed a giant opening in the earth, being revealed, the pit seeming bottomless. "I almost ran into that…"

"With Claire."

"Claire!" shadow spun around, and she still sat where he had left her, her face was sad and her eyes confused, a bruise on her arm where he had gripped it. Quickly he was by her side, kneeling down and touching her face, "I'm sorry I'm sorry!" he gently took her bruised arm in his hands, "I'm so sorry-"

"It's alright Shadow, you were distracted. You didn't mean to." she offered a sympathetic smile but Shadow looked away, pained, what kind of knight was he? A failure…..a failure as a knight,….a failure as a partner and ,worse of all, a failure as a friend…, "I'm sorry…" he whispered,

Then came Sonics voice, "Wow! I can't even get you to apologize once, and you apologized to Claire four times! I feel like you're playing favorites, Shads."

Shadow growled turning to glare at the smirking hedgehog, but this time he glanced back, gripping Claries hand, (feeling her squeeze back made him feel better), "I'm not in the mood, Blue Knave, "

"You're never in the mood, " he smirked at the two but couldn't help but smile kindly,

"Now that your head is on straight, want to finish what you started?"

Shadow looked at Sonic with a glare but then looked over at Claire taking her hand in his, "Is thou ready for thy mission? Together?" but part of him willed for her to yell at him and call him stupid.

But her hand just shot out and yanked on his ear, her eyebrows raised and frustrated, "Thou is thinking of me as a weak lass again. We are knights, born to protect and serve our King at all costs." she pulled her hand away for a moment before holding out her hand again, this time Shadow smirked and gripped it too, the two pulling each other up to their feet. Sir Shadow grinned for a moment before turning back to Sonic, "So, do you have a way to the Dark Legionnaires base?"

The Blue Knave grinned, "Would I have run you off the road otherwise?"

"Knave-"

"Alright," Sonic turned pointing down road,' its just this way.' then turned to grin at Shadow, his eyes challenging, "Wanna race there?"

Shadow rolled his eyes, what did the fool know? Knights didn't take part in childish things such as races? And with a glare Sonic shrugged and set off running but, not two seconds later, Shadow ran over and hoisted Claire onto his shoulder, "Hold on!" he warned then set off at high speed, catching up with the Knight of the Wind with great ease . He looked over at Sonic and felt a little bit of gratitude, 'Thank you…' he thought to himself. But its not like he'd ever say it, seesh.

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Sonic slid to a stop just behind a jumble of rocks, Shadow stopped just behind it, the dust stirring up slightly around them,, but not rising above their legs. Claire slid down from Shadow and followed Sonic as he pressed himself against the rock and slid to the edge. But Shadow put his visor up, sliding past Claire and yanking on the Blue Knaves elbow and hissed, "Why did you lead us out here? We're in the middle of nowhere, there's no chaos energy."

But Sonic just smirked at Shadow, causing him to growl in anger, "Don't thou worry Shads, just use thy Chaos senses and thou will see."

But this just brought another glare from Shadow, 'Thou knave expects me to obey him?' he thought to himself furiously, but (curious) started to tune in his senses. To his shock, he felt the energy coming towards them, "What the hell-" in the distance he saw a trail of smoke covering and plaguing the sky into a dark poisonous green. Shadow could only look at Sonic with a horrified look in his eyes, "What the hell is that?" he demanded

"it's the Dark Legions latest weapon, a Land Dragon that is running on energy from the Master Emerald, it producing poisonous gas that will kill everyone it comes by…and its headed right for…."

"For where?" but Shadow felt his heart drop down as he could only guess the tow.

But Sonics eyes said it all ,"Knothole….."

"Sari…" he whispered. He could only imagine his sweet child eating dinner with the Chaotix….her fragile lungs that could barely stand the air NOW…if they were subjected to poison ….the thought sent a paternal instinct through his spine. He drew out his sword, " So we get in, and destroy it right?"

"Bingo." Sonic winked, then looked over at Claire, "We'll get you close to it and you use your axes to hoist us up, ok? I called Knothole ahead of time, but we still need to get to it before it reaches town, keep your visors down to block out the poison." the Blue Knave pulled down his golden visor, "You ready you two?

Shadow watched Claire nod and pull her visor down before doing the same. "Lets go."

There was a loud hissing sound that suddenly erupted. Brining Shadows attention back to the poisonous trail, which was now jus behind the mountains.

Suddenly a large gray beast shot into view, about the length of a full lined train, its smooth body weaving back and forth over the ground like a snake, the "Head" was shaped like a arrow and the top of the body was flat, you could see several Dark Legionaries running over it, apparently trying to keep the large monster moving and, at the raised center (probably the controls) stood the leader. Lein-Da, descendent of Dmitri her red fur was tied off dreadlock style like most female echidnas, her body was clothed with black leather and a black whip hanging at her waist.

Shadow felt Clair tap on his shoulder, snapping him out of his awe. No time for games, this was serious. He quickly turned and put his hands together, Sonic doing the same, Claire quickly climbed and stood on their hands, kneeling down as to not fall off. Shadow moved his hand up to her lower back (to keep her from falling off) then Sonic looked Shadow in his eyes, with his trademark smile.

"Lets do it to it."

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Claire , now being up against the side of the Monolith (despite the waving of the body) carefully drew her twin axes out from under her cloak (not wanting to loose balance and go flying off of Shadow and Sonics hands). Claire slowly drew back one of the axes then slammed it into the side and sinking easily into the medal (she would have to thank Tails later). She tested the security of the ax for a few seconds before slamming the other one. Sonic and Shadow instantly grabbed Claire waist, holding on for dear life. Claire looked down on them for a moment, making sure THEY were secure before she pulled out one ax and slammed it above them, then using the next blade and pulling herself up higher, then again, and again. Within the minute Claire had pulled them all the way to the top, then glanced down on Shadow, "Its your turn."

The Ultimate Knight nodded, and carefully climbed over Claire (not grabbing her anywhere in appropriate) to the top. Right there were a few Legionnaires standing there with their back to them, perfect. Shadow quickly pulled himself to the landing before turning and pulling up the other two. Claire and Sonic crouched by him, watching the oblivious Legionnaires carefully, pulling out their blades slowly. Shadows eyes never leaving them, at this rate they could go through the entire vessel in a silent invasion, this could work-'

Then

"CHARGE!" screamed Sonic, charging forward, the Legionnaires looked over and screeched, one of them ran and grabbed a bell, sending a alarm all through the vessel.

Shadow sighed heavily as Legionnaires started gathering around, crossbows drawn and pointed at them. This was perfect, he felt Claire pull on his ear again, smirking, "Lets go!" she pulled down her visor before leaping up into crowd, her blades swinging around and catching them. Shadow sighed and drew out Melethling, "Lets get going." he charged forward, his sword sliding forward and knocking a group of them off of the vessel. Grinning inn satisfaction he turned and stepped to the side in time to dodge a attempt to shoot at him from a Legionnaire, he ducked down then rammed his body into the echidna, making him go flying off again-

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"Daddy!"

Shadow, who had taken over telling the story a while ago, blinked as he was interrupted by his daughter, confused he looked at her, "What?"

"Are you going to focus on fighting? What about the villain?"

"Well, the fighting was very important," he looked at Claire ,hoping for a back up but she just crossed her arms and looked at him with her eyebrows raised amused

"Shadow, she's 6, I don't think the useless-henchmen-montage-kill scenes really appeal to her, maybe you should just skip to the ACTUAL fight."

"Oh fine!" Shadow rolled his eyes ,then mumbled under his breath, "It was pretty bad-a though-"

"shadow"

"ok ok fine"

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****

Sir Shadow knocked the last Legionnaire of the battle ( a battle that was, not only legendary but full of awesome kills) to the ground, where it lay sparking. He looked through the remains of the robots ,making sure they were all offline. "As if they ever stood a chance." he smirked. He enjoyed destroying robots, at least they weren't alive. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sonic walking over, his visor still down to protect his lungs from the poisonous air but gave off the air of a smile, which made Shadow growl, "What now Blue Knave?"

****************************************

****

" Its just you, I'm a little shocked."

"About what?" and why bring it up now?

"You've changed, normally you drew out the battle more, and you look out for yourself, but this time…."

Shadow crossed his arms aggravated, as though they had time for this, (Claire currently running ahead to scout out the next battle) ,"Knave thy better make thy point fast-"

"My point is that this time, you never left Claire's back. You were always side by side….that's not like you."

"Well, fool, we've worked together for a while know, we are used to fighting side by side, it only natural I would be drawn to stand by her side."

"I don't know, it just seemed so much more then that,…just a feeling I got….you've changed Shadow…"

The Ultimate Knight scowled, turning his head he looked in the direction of where Claire had left, drumming his sword slightly, he hated it when Sonic made accusations that didn't make sense, Claire was his friend so it should be only natural that he wanted to protect her right?

Speaking of which, Claire hurried towards them, hands on her twin blades and her face slightly worn.

"Comrades, tis a straight shot to the control, but I fear the time is drawing nearer, we must hurry. Tis this way." turning back she started running back down the vessel, Shadow running behind her, hand on handle just in case of ambush. He could see Sonic out of the corner of his eye, Shadow could just SEE the smirk on his face which brought another growl to his lips. Why did the Blue Knave have to bring up something so incredulous now? They had no time for this. But he became increasingly worried as the poison gas became thicker the further they ran, almost to the point where it surrounded them, ruining their perception on how much room they had to run before they would go flying off of the vessel. Luckily Claire's white cloak stuck out like a beacon, guiding their way, she already having memorized the way and adjusted to the jerky nature of the path (which was still swinging side to side). For some reasons Shadow felt a strange peace fall over him, realizing there was no one he would rather go into battle with (whether being blind or deaf) then with Claire…. A thought that sent a strange feeling in his chest.

Finally they broke through the fog, the sun bitterly shining into their dilated eyes which made Shadow slide to a stop (seeing his comrades doing the same) and covered his eyes with the back of his eyes, "Dam,,….thy sun is sour." he growled

A cold sharp voice came into his ear, "And the air is about to become a bit more….deadly."

Lowering his hand, he was "welcomed' with the sight of Lein-da, standing at the round table that served as the controls to death machine, a armada of Legionnaires surrounding her, her face was in a cold demeaning smile that glared down on the Knights (who remained unfazed), "I'm surprised thou has made it this far, but I shouldn't except any less from the Knight of Gun, the Knight of the Wind and," he gaze fell on Claire, her lips drawing back into a cruel smirk, "a Wolf-Eared freak."

Shadow glanced back on Claire and, even though her visor was down, he could tell that her face was unfazed (being used to years of discrimination). He drew out his sword pointing it right in Lein-Da's direction, "Under order of the Kingdom of G.U.N, you are under arrest, now will you come quietly…or do we have to bring thy down painfully?"

A cruel laugh rang from the demented echidnas lungs, she drew her whip back and snapped it against the metal under her feet, the Legionaries jumping slightly, "Tis not going to be that easy, KNIGHT OF ARK!" she pointed forward, her bare, pointed teeth drawing back into a coyotish grin as she pointed at them and screeched, "KILL HTEM!"

So the battle ensued, Sir Shadow, Chevaleresse Claire, and Sonic leapt forward, clashing with the oncoming army, their swords glinting in the sun and slashing through the army, slicing robots in half and shoving through. The 3 BEST warriors of the land, slowly making their way through but the army pressed on.

Shadow threw off another legionnaire with a war, slicing the robot through the chest before jumping back, slamming into another Legionnaire, causing it to go flying back into a group of oncoming robots. He gave a satisfied smirk watching them retreat back, even robots knew better then to challenge the Ultimate Knight. He heard a crack of a whip and glanced over to see Lein-Da in a battle with Claire, the Wolf-Eared Knight easily holding her own, Artemis and Apollo drawn to counter Lein-da's cruel whip. Even though Lein-da was falling back in great haste, there were obvious signs that Lein-Das weapon had made a mark against Claire. Which made Shadow growl as anger filled him, he grabbed his sword and started running towards them, he had to help-

Suddenly something slammed into his side gripping his arms and trapping him, making Shadow stumble back, he growled again and grabbed for his sword only to se it was Sonic, "Knave!" his fist shot out and grabbed Sonic by the front, "Why is thou blocking my way?"

"Because Claire will be fine, but we've wasted too much time, we're getting too close to the town, we need to stop the Land Dragon NOW!"

"How?" he demanded, but before Sonic could answer Shadow ran to the edge of the vessel, looking at the ground, his mind working on a plan, 'if the Land Dragon is moving like a snake, then if he get under it jus right the we can trip it over a d help everyone!' he ran back over to Sonic, "You Faker, when I say so, follow me." then ran back over to where Claire was, how had currently kicked Lien-Da back ,"Claire! "

"Yeah?" she asked, swords drawn,

"Me and the Knave are going to try and stop thy Land Dragon, but before that I must know," his throat became dry, "Do you trust me?"

Claire turned and gave Shadow a thumbs up, "would I be here if I didn't? Do what you got to do Shads, I can distract the Legionnaires."

Shadow smiled relieved, then ran back over to Sonic, "Aright now follow my lead Knave" he leapt off of the Land Dragon, his feet hitting the ground running, instantly settling into a speed that matched the Land Dragon, he could see Sonic out of the corner of his eye doing the same. Shadow turned and ran away from the Land Dragon, moving quickly over the hills, his eye never leaving the vessel , 'please let this work.' he prayed, 'please let Claire me safe.' then he yelled back, "NOW SONIC!" he turned back at a hard angle, sliding across the ground, dirt rising around him in a great storm, he heard a screeching behind him indicating Sonic was doing the same. Shadow put a hand to the ground, which curved his slide as he kept his concentration to a blinding glare, then he set off again, running forward a gold blur shooting over him as he reached sound-barrier limits, a giant cracking sound as Sonic did the Same. They zoomed at the Land Dragon with blinding strength, gritting his teeth Shadows reached under his cloak and drew out his Chaos Spear, which was now glowing gold as it reacted to his great speed, the instant they collided with the Land Dragon he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"CHAOS SPEAR!"

The vessel started to screech as they made impact, the compact making a huge tear right through the middle. The lack of balance knocking the bottom half over but the front half, without a engine, jerked around and flipped over. Then came dead silence. Shadow quickly ran over to the wreckage, scouring over, "Claire!" he tipped over a stray piece of metal becoming frantic , where was she? His heart began to sink, he could see Sonic becoming frantic too, did Claire die…..

"Thou know, Shadow, I do trust thou, more then I've trusted anyone else."

Heart lifting he spun around lifting his visor to see Claire stumbling out of the wreckage, dragging Lien-Da behind her, her was smeared but it still held her smile

"But, next time we're fighting on a Land Dragon, and you want to tip it over with me on it, I might want a heads up. But it was a good plan."

Relief spread out Shadows face as he hurried over, just happy to see her ok, "Well you're still alive aren't you?"

"Yeah yeah." a beeping sound came from Claries pocket, she reached in and took out a small crystal ball with words running across it. Shadow watched Claire's face become relieved as she looked back at him, "The Master Emerald is now stable, and the Dark Legion has retreated from Angel Island. Everyone's safe."

Shadow sighed with relief, this was the dream, a impossible mission turned happily ever after, everyone safe, and the villain captured. Looking back at the /blue Knave he asked ,"You can take the witch back to the G.U.N dungeon right?"

"Well yeah, "Came the answer, "what are you going to do-"

Shadow just turned to Claire, "Want to walk back?"

Claire smiled, "Course," she draped a arm over his shoulder, he did the same with her waist (in a 'friendly' way. The two started walking back towards the town, a strange conversation taking forth.

"Want to order pizza when we get back?" asked Shadow

"Hell yes!"

"Ok but we're not ordering any of those strange topping you like."

"Oh come on! I have good taste."

"Onions and bacon? Gross."

"You're gross!"

"I can't be gross! I'm the Ultimate Knight!"

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"

The End." said Claire, the story at a end.

Shadow looked over at Sari who was beaming from ear to ear, a tired look in her eyes, 'mission accomplished.' then over at Claire who was smiling too just at Sari, her face brought a gentle smile across his lips. Reaching over he took her hand gently squeezing it,

"good job…." he whispered to her gently, leaning in close to her head to not arouse Sari

"Thanks." she smiled leaning over to him too

Shadow smile grew wider, life was good-

"daddy?" came the small voice

Looking over, Shadow saw Sari's eye slowly opening, he quickly reached over and started stroking the Childs hand, trying to get her back to sleep, "Sh, go to sleep sweet sweety."

"I will Daddy I will…but I have a question about the story."

"Yes Angel?"

"IS this story take place before or after Lancelot and Guinevere get married?"

Cold realization hit Shadow like a bullet, the smile and warm feeling that had been there turned into terror, "Excuse me?"

"Well, in Author Legends, Sir Lancelot and Princess Guinevere get married."

Shadow looked at Claire , who also held the same face of horror. He quickly kissed Sari on the head, "Be right back." he grabbed Claire by the waist and dove under the bed, to give them the much needed privacy they needed at the time. Shadow looked over at Claire, a look of horror in his eyes as he hissed furiously, "You told me that Lancelot and Guinevere DIDN'T' end up together!"

"I'm just going by what you told me!" she hissed back," You're the one reading Arthurian Legends!"

"That's no excuse! We're going to give Sari a complex! For goodness sake, you portrayed us as the couple in a story!" out of frustration his hand shot out and squeezed Claire's ribs. Instantly there was a small high pitched sound like a toy which made Shadow pause, "Did you just squeak?"

"No!" her face slightly horrified eyes wide and hands over her mouth in a attempt to hide where the noise had come from, "I…hiccupped…."

Shadow raised his eye brow then his hand shot out and grabbed her ribs again making another squeaking sound to fill the air, he gave a loud laugh, his eyes wide at this discovery, "Holy Shit that's hilarious!"

"Dam it Shadow-"

Shadow grabbed her ribs again, the squeaking sound making him laugh loudly again, and squeezed her side over and over again, almost like a child with a new toy, "This is freaking awesome!" he declared, then felt Claries hands over his face, pulling on it angrily in a attempt to force him off

"Dang it Sh-(squeak)adow! Its' not F(squeak)unny! (Squeak!)"

"I beg to differ!" he gave another loud arrogant laugh, "this is great!"

Suddenly the tiny tired voice called over the bed, "Quit making out I'm trying to sleep!"

Once again a feeling of horror shot through Shadow, "Sari it's not what it-" he sat up quickly only to bang his head on the wood of Saris' bed, lights flashing before his eyes as his head pulsing painfully as he laid his head back down, "Ow…"

Wild laughter erupted from the Squeaky Soldier, as she literally rolled on the floor laughing, her feet kicking his side as she declared, "Not so funny when its you is it?"

"Shut up Claire! My heads killing me!"

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Despite the excitement, Sari was asleep by the time Shadow and Claire (as soon as she stopped laughing and Shadow stopped making her squeak) left the room. Shadow , after gaining self control and his vision, stumbled down the stairs, only to see Claire walking from the front door with a package in her hands, a excited look on her face" What's that?" he asked, "DId the mail-man just drop it off?"

Claire , looked at him, as though disappointed he had seen her, then looked at the box, before holding it out, "Here.'

Confused he took it, it was small but he looked at her, "What-"

"Just open it."

Shadow paused then set it on the table, using his nails to pull open the flaps and pull the tape off, what was it? It confused him, then , after going through miles of newspaper and Styrofoam, his hand touched something glass, his hand drew back before taking it gently into his hands and raising it up to the light, shocked.

It was a small glass case, the bottom was carved artistically out of stone half of it was, carving to match the outside of the Space Colony Ark, the other half had been painted to look like earth, coming from that was a glass holder, on the Ark side was a picture of, to his shock, a old but rejuvenated picture of Maria, Professor Robotnik was standing behind her, Maria was sitting at a table across from himself, the two seemed to be talking about something as the Professor looked on, a proud look on his face. The picture on the earth side was a group picture of all the friends Shadow had made since he got to Earth, all located on the beach, even Claire and Shadow were in there. The entire thing was held up by onyx stand, Shadow, hands shaking looked it over, to the picture of Maria and the Professor, he could feel emotion rising in his throat as he ran his hand over the picture, "Where…..where did you find this picture?"

"I pulled a few strings. Happy Birthday Shadow."

Slightly shocked , he turned look at her, still in awe of the gift, "How did you find out?"

"I have my ways."

He remembered how she had said she had been saving up, her worn clothes and ruined bike and the price of such a artistic and personal gift. He looked at her, putting a arm around her shoulders, "IS this…what you've been saving up on?"

"Yup." she smiled, "tis worth it though"

HE smiled back weakly, looking to the gift, he set it down then looked at her fully, "I have to pay you back for this, when's your birthday?" To his surprise ,Claire started laughing, hand over her mouth which confused him, "What did I say?"

"I'm sorry, I guess It's so obvious to me, " she smiled at him," I don't have a birthday."

"what? Don't be preposterous-"

"I'm serious Shadow, " but the smile never left her face, "I was never given a birthday, they didn't even mark down when I was dropped off at the Orphanage, I don't know when I was born, so I don't get to celebrate it." she shrugged, "But I love celebrating other peoples birthdays." then turning she started heading for the kitchen ,"So since its your birthday guess you get to pick the pizza and movie right?"

But Shadow didn't hear her, he was too busy starring ,in awe, at the extravagant gift, a feeling of guilt coming over him, every year on this day he avoided everyone, he had always taken birthday for granted. It was just another day….but now.. Claire probably never had anyone fuss over her, or beg to throw her a party, or a chance to blow out candles. How could he have been so stupid? Was there anyway to make it up to her? His eye caught the gold on his wrist, reminding him on of his inhibitor rings. Before he knew it, he had hurried forward , pulling off his inhibitor ring (just one) and grabbed her wrist, pulling it over her hand and onto her wrist, instantly the ring resized itself to fit snug against her skin. He watched her face become confused as she looked over it , "Shadow what are you doing? You need this-"

"No I don't, I can get another one." he held her wrist, "This was the same ring I fell to earth with, I gave the other one to Sari a while ago, but its one of my most prized possession…."

"shadow I can't take this-"

"Yes you can…Claire….I…" he paused, he wasn't use to doing things like this, "If you have that ring on, I'll always be able to find you….we'll always be connected. Even if we get separated and you go to the ends of the earth, I'll find you….you…..mean a lot to me…me and Sari. You've done so much for us…but I've done so little for you….." his eyes fell in sadness

"But Shadow I never wanted anything from you-"

"That's the point Claire, you've never asked anything from me…."he paused, "I….I want to share my birthday with you."

Claire, her eyes slightly teary eyed, "You want to what-"

He kept his hand and eyes focused on her hand that he held with both of his "I never celebrate it, if anything I'm even colder on my birthday…but….If I shared it with you….I think I'd enjoy it….I'd enjoy , at least, celebrating yours…" he heard a sniffing sound and looked up, horrified to see Claire with her face in her free hand, her shoulders shaking and tears pouring out between her fingers. Shadow leapt back a little shocked, "what! Was it something I said! I thought I was being nice! If ti wasn't tell me I'm not used to being nice-"

Claire just shook her head, her voice thick, "N-NO one's ever b-bb-been this nice to me before….I-I don't know what to say…."

Shadow blinked then walked over to her he reached out hesitantly withdrawing for a moment, 'what an I doing?' he asked himself, then pulled her hand down gently and wiped her eyes gently, like he didfor Maria so many times, "Then shouldn't you be smiling?"

She nodded quickly wiping the remaining tears out of her eyes, "I'm sorry Dam it, my tear ducts broke when you kept squeezing my ribs."

Shadow gave a faint laugh wrapping his arm around her waist (friendly way, once again ) "So how about I choose the movie and you order the pizza, to celebrate the last few hours of OUR birthday?"

Claire nodded putting on a smile, "Warning the onions, WILL be there."

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Few hours later

Shadow picked up the plate next to Saris' bed, smiling silently at her sleeping face. Her ears twitching every so often. Reaching gently he felt her forehead, satisfied to feel the nice cool feeling that signified a healthy little girl. Pulling the blankets more over her shoulders, and kissed her on top of her head, "Just keep sleeping." he stood back up, watching her sleep for a few more minutes before walking out, yawning widely as he leapt down the stairs, the tv was flashing credits, "AH hell Claire, I thought I asked you to pause it before the final scene-" rounding the couch he saw Claire was laying down, her head lolled over and breathing softly, indicating she had fallen asleep. Shadow smirked slightly then walked over, "Ok fine I'll clean the dishes." picked up plates he walked over to the kitchen, moving pizza into cartons and putting them away.

He heard a small sound coming from the living room and looked back in, "Huh?" he walked back in then smirked, Claire was probably talking in her sleep again, something he had discovered when she first moved in (when she fell asleep during a movie ,which she did often). And one of his favorite things to do was listen in and torture her on it later. He stood by hers carefully tuned on her whispering, but couldn't make anything out. Growling he leaned forward, one hand on the back fo the couch and the other and the ground, putting his ear right next to her mouth-

"SHADOW WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"

Surprised, Shadow stumbled forward, grabbing the couch to keep from falling on Claire, he growled again and looked towards the window.

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Sonic and Knuckles ducked under the window, hearts pounding and faces panicked. Sonic was holdng a ruined birthday cake to his chest (havign hugged it out of shock). Knuckles looked over at Sonic and hissed, "what the hell is wrong with you? Why did you yell!"

"You saw it too! He was going to steal a kiss!"

"I knew coming here was a bad idea1"

"Never mind that now RUN!' Sonic grabbed Knuckles wrist and started running , but didn't get 2 feet before there was a rush of red energy in front of them, making Sonic slid to a stop. There stood Shadow, his eyes red and red energy running down her hands,

"..!"

Sonic, despite all his speed, stumbled over his words like a newbie, "wlelwkjeaifipawf'awjfp'ajwe'fp-"

"FAKER-"

"Aright aright! We stopped by because we wanted to give you a birthday cake, but when we got here I saw you in the window TRYING to kiss CLAIRE!"

"I wasn't trying to kiss Claire!"

"Yes you were! You were leaning over her and everything!"

Shadow growled again, a deep heat running over his face ( a unknown feeling), "I was listening to her talk in her sleep! What's so wrong with that?"

Sonic eyes narrowed, turned surprised then mischievous, leaning back arms crossed, "But you wanted to."

"what? That's absurd!"

'You totally did, your face is RED! This explains everything!"

"Explains what-"

Sonic grabbed Knuckles wrist, calling back, "I'll explain later, but do me a favor, if you do kiss Claire don't' steal it while she's asleep!" laughing wildly he ran right past Shadow and out of sight. Leaving Shadow standing there, releasing the energy back into his body. Confused he walked back into the house, "Stupid Sonic, Doesn't know what he's talking about." he looked at Claire, who was still asleep, " As if I wanted to kiss you." suddenly the feeling returned to his face, a red hot feeling, he quickly put a hand to his face, was he getting sick? He shook his head, Absurd! Who ever heard of the Ultimate Life form getting sick! Growling again he walked over and scooped the sleeping wolf-girl into his arms, "Might as well not let her sleep here….." and walked to put her in her room


	15. Marine

Now before I start this chapter, I feel I owe people a explanation. I know my grammar and sentence structure isn't perfect, and people suggest I use a Microsoft Word to fix it. But the thing is, the computer I write my story on doesn't have the program, I'm stuck with Microsoft Works Word Processor which, although a great program, it doesn't have grammar check. So I'm sorry, I'll try to be more aware of it but please keep that in mind

A typical morning.

Claire grumbled at the sound of her alarm clock, ringing at 6, every fiber of her being wanted to go back it sleep but, being a good soldier, climbed out of bed (pulling on her combat boots first thing). Stretching her arms up high before standing up and walking over to some open ground, taking half an hour to perform some warm up exercises (20 sets of one finger push ups, and upside-down pull-ups). Standing up straight she pulled on her cameo uniform ( cameo pants and her cameo jacket), before walking out, her hand still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as she headed for her bathroom.

Suddenly Shadow walked abruptly in front of him, "Scuse me." he mumbled , almost in a sleep drunken slur ,right into the bathroom. Slamming the door behind him and leaving Claire a bit more awake if not aggravated. Walking to the door she knocked on it "Shadow, this is my bathroom. I need to get ready!"

His reply was, "My bathroom smells again, I'm using yours."

"what? Shadow, you gave me this bathroom for a reason!"

"Its not my fault my bathroom smells again."

"Actually yes it is!" she banged on the door again, the door opened widely and she found her hygiene items (brush, deodorant, toothpaste) shoved into her arms before the door was slammed again. At first Claire just stood there, a 'you got to be kidding me' look on her face. Then called through the door, "You do realize that you do this every morning!"

"Well, get over it. I'm just going to take a shower-"

"Just take a shower?" she gave a loud laugh to add emphasis, "Sir you take LONG showers, almost 2 hours long! I'm not questioning your masculinity but I thought all men took nice short showers."

"I have freaking fur all over my body, it takes a while to clean of all. But I wouldn't worry bout how LONG my showers are and how SHORT it takes you to get ready! Seriously, what all can you clean or get ready in 4 minutes?"

"You kept TIME on how long it takes me to get ready?"

"You did with my showers, now go away!'

Before Claire could argue further, there was the sound of running water, indicating that Shadow was now ignoring her. She growled slightly, "Just another morning…."

"Mommy?"

Turning around she saw Sari standing in the hallway, obviously having just gotten up herself (her hair a mess and dress wrinkled) .Smiling sympathetically she walked over and ruffled her hair, "I'm sorry Angel, did we wake you up?"

The tiny girl just half shrugged, barely listening, "If you want, Mommy, you can get ready in my bathroom with me."

Claire smiled again, "Sure." then followed Sari into her tiny, but suitable, bathroom. Used to this routine, Claire bent over and wrapped her arm around Sari's stomach, lifting her up to the sink so she was standing on the rim (Claire kept her arm in place just in case). Immediately they set into routine, Sari brushing her teeth while Claire worked on the tiny girls hair, (the best she could) before switching places and while Claire was brushing her teeth, Sari would stand behind her (top of a large chair) and running a brush through Claries slightly long white hair. This entire process took only 5minutes then they were out of the bathroom and finishing breakfast. Shadow ,Claire noted a bit smugly, still in the shower. Using the reflection off the kitchen sink she pulled her hair back and military cap on top. A image of a professional soldier. She turned on her heel to a beaming Sari (standing by her backpack and cases), "You look good, Mommy."

This brought a smile to Claire's face (the act of being called "mommy" making her proud more then anything) ,"Thanks Angel. Do you have everything?"

"I think so." Sari looked through her backpack, her smiling face become puzzled as she reached around. Then looked into the bag again before looking back up at Claire, her face slightly panicked, "I can't find my Math book."

"Are you sure?" Claire knelt by the backpack and looked around too, but found her statement to be true, becoming confused, "do you remember where you left it?"

The tiny girl closed her eyes, thinking hard through her still sleeping brain. Then she opened her gold eyes, beaming brightly, "We worked on it in your room Mommy! Remember?"

"Alright then. Lets go look."

Sari grabbed Claries hand and quickly drug her into Claries room. They started looking around the cleanliness that was her room. It wasn't fancy , but it was hers. A single bed with a chest in the corner, a desk in the front and a recliner in the corner. A hard as it was to believe, this room was already bigger then her entire apartment back at G.U.N.

Getting down on her knees she looked over under the chair, "Sari you look under the bed ;I'll look over here." she felt under the recliner, feeling around the dust collected on her hand and tangling her fingers up and making her nails sticky, "Dang it,"

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Shadow finally stepped out of the bathroom, grumbling as he rubbed his ears with the towel, "'Take too long in the shower' oh please. I'd like to see HER clean all this dam fur-"

"You could always shave it all off!" came the response from her bed room

"Ha Ha." he said mockingly, pulling on his military tie; he found (to his frustration) tangling around his hand, "Ah hell." knowing the only one who could rectify the problem he walked into Claire's room, only to find Sari's legs sticking out from under Claries bed and Claire under the recliner. For some reason this amused him, he pulled on Saris leg, "Angel, what are you two doing?"

Sari started to answer, muffled by the sheets that covered the bed. Sighing he knelt down and pulled Sari out by the feet. The girls ,on her stomach, hair was covered by dust, her face slightly shocked by being pulled out so abruptly, holding a suitcase by the worn handle. Blinking she looked up at her father, a scowl (a rather adorable one) on her face, "Daddy! That wasn't nice!"

"Well I couldn't understand what you were saying." he pulled the child onto the bed, trying to pick the dust out of her hair

"We're looking for my math book when I found this box!"

"That's nice." Shadow gave a small smirk, out of the corner if his eye he saw a large green book and smirked. He picked it up and handed to Sari and whispered ( deciding to let Claire look a little longer), "Hey kid go take this and clean yourself up."

Sari grabbed the book ,"Thank you Daddy!" she handed him the suitcase and fled from the room with great haste. Shadow smirked, and sat down on the bed, waiting for Claire to give up her search when his eyes caught the suitcase Sari had handed to him. The case was dark green with rusty metal corners and wooden, worn handles. On the front was a very faint "Claire Vancouver". He called over, "Can I look at this?"

Without looking (or paying attention) she called back, "Yeah yeah, now where's that book…" she added to herself.

Shadow smirked again, pulling the suitcase onto his lap. Pulling the rusted latches open, he was rewarded with the sight of ,not embarrassing photos ( like he had hoped). But clothing, a few trinkets, and stray photos. Becoming curious (and no longer looking for blackmail) he drew out a white barracks cover "You were a Marine?" he asked

"I did my training with the Marines. Yes." luckily she hadn't bothered to look around yet

He looked back at the hat, it seemed like he'd learn something new about the wolf eared girl everyday. But that is what so much fun about it. He gently set it aside and reached into the suitcase again. He sorted through the item, stray pics, a dented metal covered bible. Putting the Bible aside he saw a small item, wrapped in white cloth. He lifted it up, and gently unwrapped it. In his hand lay a small medal, a small gold heart with purple in the center, outlining a picture of George Washington. The connection that held the cloth and medal together was the Coat of Arms for George Washington. The cloth it hung from was also six sided polygon with white lining on the top sides. The Purple Heart. He held it with awe, Claire had done tours while with the Marines? And was injured? He looked at the other cloth, another medal? "Claire, when did you do Active Duty?" he started to uncover the second medal, but he only revealed the red cloth with a blue stripe down the middle, white on either side but he immediately recognized it, "You earned the Bronze Star-"

The items were yanked out of Shadows hands. Claire shoved the medals back into the suitcase and shoved back under the bed, "Sari found the math book and we're running late." her face was blank but there was a strange air to her. A sense of urgency to her movement. Shadow stood up, not willing to let it go, "Claire, this is the Bronze Star, the fourth highest ranking medal a soldier can get, how did you -" suddenly the tie, that had been limp up until now tightened around his throat tightly as Claire tied it quickly. Her face forced on a smile, "We're running late. Go take Sari to school. And I'll meet you at work." and with that she left the room. Shadow paused, looking out the bedroom door. Slightly confused, but then a tiny hand grabbed his, looking down he saw Sari standing there; fully ready to go but a impatient-exasperated look on her face, "Daddy we're going to be late!'

"Huh? Right." he quickly picked her up and ran out the door.

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Meanwhile in the coffee room, it was the usual ruckus and clash of caffeine addicted government officials that were now fighting for a drop of their sacred coffee bean drink. And they all were in a shouting fest trying to prove who was more worthy.

Claire opened the door to the room, officials of ages 45-90 all clamored around; screaming and pushing at each other, all claiming their problems bigger. In order for just a drop of the sacred coffee bean drink. And the longer they fought the louder the yells came.

"Wife made me sleep on the couch-"

"Kids dance recital-"

"Newborn grandson wouldn't stop-"

"Mistress found out about other mistress and I got my ass-"

" -A rash I can't explain to my wife-"

"Anniversary-"

But Claire, having been apart of this insanity for a while now, felt a huge relief she didn't have to be apart of the rush. She continued forward through the hall. Agent passed every once in a while and she'd salute them, they'd return the gesture which made her proud. When she had first joined G.U.N the other agents wouldn't even give her the time of day. But now they looked at her with respect, something she had worked hard to earn. Turning into a different hall, she walked up to the door at the end that read "Captain Shadow" and below that "Lance Corporal Claire Vancouver".

To explain, at the beginning if that month, G.U.N found out that they were getting many new recruits from the Corp and Army. This was wonderful, except they didn't have enough space. So they decided to renovate some offices, making some Agents team up to a single office. Shadow and Claire found a advantage to this. Since they both had crappy small offices and had found a larger, much nicer then a normal office. So they volunteered themselves to the weary renovators (who had been dealing with narcissistic 'Rat-Nerds' all day who claimed they NEEDD their office) ad had even offered to move into a empty room they had found. So it was done.

she was welcomed to thought of their office, a large C shaped office, on opposite corners of the room, turned ever so lightly so they were both facing the TV that hung above the door. They had both "decorated" (if you could call it that) their wings to their specifications. A picture here, a trash apart can their (which didn't bother since they would try to shoot into each others anyway) and a dry erase board on the back wall. Below that was a table with a coffee maker on it, and below that was a mini fridge (for their snacking needs). Claire was wondering how long it would take Shadow to show up as she opened the door.

Shadow, standing at the coffee maker, a smirk at Claire, "About time." he passed off the coffee he had been making before going over to his desk and sitting down; he propped his feet up on the desk. Claire watched him hold his coffee to his nose and take a deep inhale of the coffee beans; a look of peace on his face.

As much as she wanted to say something, Claire couldn't blame him. They had a nice office, good jobs, a wonderful child to take care of, and they could drink all the coffee they wanted. She smirked at him slightly before returning to the paperwork again (after all, someone had to do it)

After a few moments Shadow spoke up, "You going to tell me about the Bronze Star yet?"

'Here we go.' thought Claire. She raised her head to see Shadow still looking at her, his usual smirk on his face and arms crossed; as though he expected her to spill right then and now.

HE should of known better, "Like I said, its nothing. Irrelevant. "she heard him grumble and shuffle his papers. Suddenly he swore loudly which made Claire without looking asked, "What now-"

"We have a appointment with the Brotherhood at Haven. Apparently it was filled out weeks ago!' Shadow stood up and hurried to her side and grabbed her hand, teleporting them out.

The next instant they were in Haven. Appearing in a room ,that seemed to be, entirely made up of mechanics. Towers stood out of the floor glowing faintly. Claire looked at Shadow confused, "I thought you were teleporting us to the front."

"SO did I." he looked around, his face just as puzzled, "Must of been a disturbance in the Chaos Energy. I've never seen THIS room before." curious he took a few steps forward (despite Claries protest)," this must be the mainframe, to help support the main computer."

"Shadow, we need to go find Locke-"

"WE will in a minute.' he looked beyond the towers, the room seemed to go on forever ,"This is a Rat-Nerds paradise-"

"its my paradise as well.' came a voice. Claire and Shadow spun around,(hands on guns) expecting to see a enemy or robot, instead they saw (probably the strangest thing in the world).

Rolling up to them was a echidna head, mostly made out of mechanics, its dreadlocks attacked to the tower below it, situated on wheels (which allowed for its transportation). The man (?) seemed amused by their stares, "What? Have you never seen a cyborg before?"

Claire who (of course) had more manners then Shadow, strolled forward ,pulling her hand gently away from Shadows (who seemed a little resistance to let go) and strolled right up to the echidna-tower, and gave a salute, "Lance Corporal Claire Vancouver sir"

"Ah, so you're with G.U.N?" asked the echidna, "I' am Dimitri."

Shadow finally spoke, "Dimitri?"

Claire looked back, Shadow had his arms crossed his face suspicious as he strolled forward, looking at Dimitri a bit accusing," As in the leader of the Legionnaires?"

"Former. Leader. But yes, I spend most of my time now here, trying to redeem myself."

"As if you could." Shadow scoffed slightly, apparently still sore (seeing as they had been fighting Legionnaires for weeks now). Claire couldn't' blame him for feeling like that, but Dimitri didn't seem so bad.

Dimitri gave Shadow a aggravated glare (as though he had heard it before), "You of all people should know about 'redemption,', or need I remind you of YOUR failures?"

Claire watched the two glare at each other, wondering if this would end in a fight ( a very unfair fight ).She heard the door slide open, turning around she saw Locke standing there, his face aggravated (oblivious to the glaring contest) "There you two are, come now you're already late as it is."

With that the two agents left the room (after Claire said bye to Dimitri). Locke in front and the two in the back. Claire saw, out of the corner of her eye, Shadow lean over to her, "So….the Bronze Star…." he whispered

"Shadow just _drop _it. Its not that big of a deal." her voice was harsher then she intended and earned a aggravated growl from Shadow.

"If its really not that big of a deal; then why can't you just TELL me."

"Because its no longer relevant."

Before he could respond Locke glared back at them, it being apparent that they were annoying him, "If you two are done flirting, " he opened the door and Claire felt dread shoot through her as they were exposed to a huge medical station. Shadow glared at the elder echidna, "What the hell is this-"

"G.U.N contacted us and told us that your Medical Exams were coming up. Knuckles suggested you'd be more comfortable doing it here-"

"We'd be more comfortable, if we had been told about it and not TRICKED like CHILDREN."

Before Locke could say anything to him, Shadow turned and stormed down the other way. A stomping rhythm to his steps and, before she could stop herself, ran after him, "Shadow wait-"

Shadow stormed away, he didn't like the feeling of being tricked (brought up too many bad memories)and now Claire couldn't even be bothered to tell him how she earned a medal?

"Shadow wait!"

Speaking of who. Shadow turned around to see his wolf eared "friend" running after him, "Shadow what's wrong-"

"what's wrong?" he repeated angrily turning to face her, "We were tricked into coming here by our so called 'superiors', I was insulted by a robotic bowling ball head, and YOU." he gave a harsh laugh, "Don't even get me started, you wont even tell me why you earned a medal, a MEDAL, I'm not asking when you freaking lost your virginity I just wanted to know that one thing!"

"Shadow-"

But he gave a cold scoff and turned from her, "Why do I even bother sharing with you. You Don't understand anything." he regretted this last sentence immediately, and found himself cringing. Why had he said that? Ever since the night with Sonic and Knuckles, Sonic accusation, he had been fighting these thoughts that kept coming up, these feelings….

"Well I'm sorry Shadow." her slightly hurt voice struck his heart in a new, but couldn't face her, "I'm sorry you ever shared your feelings with me…..and I'm sorry you're the only person in history whose ever been hurt, ….."her voice became slightly thick,. Unable to take it he turned around, "Clair I-" he was shocked to see the hallway empty (besides a very awkward looking Locke), "Claire?" he called feeling a bit frantic, how did she go without him hearing her? Especially in her combat boots (for goodness sake she was a ninja?). He quickly ran down the hall, what had he done? Why had he said those things? A cold horrid feeling filled his chest, would she ever forgive him? Running down he saw a door jarred open, feeling hopeful he ran in. Only to see the room was completely empty except for a contamination bubble. He felt his spirits sink as he turned with a shout of anger and punched the wall, the metal (sinking under his mighty fist) doing very little too soothe his self anger, "Why the hell did you say those things?" he asked himself angrily, "Why to her….." hearing footsteps he turned around to see, to his shock. Espio standing at the edge of the contamination bubble. His arms crossed and starring at him with a unrecognizable stare. HE looked at him fully, "Espio?" he had almost forgotten the Chameleon had been in contamination all this time, feeling a little awkward he walked over to the bubble, "Espio, how are you doing?" he offered , trying to be friendly (hard enough as it is).

But Espio kept starring, and Shadow sighed his self pity coming back, "I don't blame you, I just yelled at the only person who didn't peeve me off…."

"I'm guessing it was Claire?"

Surprised at the response, he looked up, to see that it had indeed been Espio speaking. He nodded, "yeah…. How did you-"

"Well, she's the only one who you really let get close to you. And , judging by your face, you must of said something bad."

He wasn't used to sharing things with this with anyone other then Claire, but he felt like he had too, "I was just angry….I was tricked into coming here, and she couldn't do something as simple as tell me how she got a medal…"

"A medal?"

"the Bronze Star."

"Well, Shadow, I'm no expert (nor do I know you as well as Claire does) but did you ever think that maybe it was a painful memory?"

He hadn't' thought of that, "Well no, but-"

"And there are things I know you haven't shared with Claire. a lot of things."

"I' told her about Saris' past and my past-"

"But you haven't told her everything, I know you well enough to know you didn't do that. I know its easier to share the hard times, you barely speak of your past as it is. But I also know you haven't once spoken of one fond memory because you're always so focused on the bad things. Claire understood this about you, still does, so what ever you said I know she's not going to hate you. You get each other too much for that…."he looked at Shadow again, "I can also tell you're wrestling with something else, feelings perhaps?"

Shadow glared at Espio hard, (who was unfazed) ,"One thing at a time. Right now I just want to find her and set things right."

"sounds easy enough," walking over to the door, Espio opened the door to the contamination room and stepped out ,"We'll just contact Dimitri ad ask-"

Shadow suddenly leapt back, hands over mouth, "what the hell do you think you're doing? You'll kill everyone!"

"Oh calm down, I'm cured you idiot. Now, lets go find Claire."

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Claire had heard Shadow shout her name but didn't acknowledge it. Instead she ducked inside the room closest to her and shut the door. A heavy weight on her mind, she rested her head against the wall, a feeling of anger coming over her. So badly she wanted to yell at Shadow, but she knew he was just stressed. She knew about his experiences with hospitals (well, not the story just that he didn't like them) and he probably didn't mean to snap (he never had before in the 10 months she knew him). But that didn't stop the tears from stinging her eyes. The truth was, what Shadow said hadn't particularly hurt her feelings (Had it, she would of punched him in the face with little remorse) but It had struck a memory….one she just wanted to forget…

"Dear Claire are you alright?" came a sympathetic voice.

Turning around she saw Dimitri rolling up to her, his face showing a sympathetic smile and a concerned look in his eyes. Immediately Claire turned her head, "Yeah I'm fine, just wanted some fresh air."

"well you're certainly not going to find it in THIS room." he laughed weakly, "this is the engine room."

Claire scowled softly, realizing this was true, "dang it…."

"Now, child, I realize I don't know you very well. But I can tell just by looking at you you've had a difficult past. By the way you walked and the way you smile. And I can understand why its hard for you to talk about it."

"So you heard what me and Shadow have been arguing about?"

"There's very little I don't hear, that and you argue VERY loudly. But I don't sense any hate in your arguments. Merely frustrations. As arrogant and pig=headed Shadow is, I highly doubt his intentions were to hurt you. If anything else, he was just trying to understand you better. I think he wants to get CLOSER to you."

Claire laughed weakly, leaning against the wall, arms crossed, "NOW why would he want to do something stupid like that?"

"The same reason why YOU want to be closer to him."

Shadow entered the room with a bit of urgency, "Claire?" looking to the side, he saw his friend standing against the wall with Dimitri in front of her. And, even though her sunglasses concealed her face, he could feel the pained emotions coming from her, he looked to Espio and Dimitri, "Mind leaving us alone for a minute or two?" as soon as they left he turned his full attention to Claire, who just looked at him (confused), then she started to speak,

"Shadow, I-"

"Claire, can I talk first?" normally he would of just stared talking bluntly, but he felt he had hurt her enough, and waited a few seconds before continuing (a big strained), "I'm sorry for what I said, I never meant to hurt you…."

Claire gave a quick laugh, "Hurt me? As if you could POSSIBLY hurt me!" she gave another laugh, crossing her arms. But Shadow just raised his eyes brows, and after a few seconds she turned her head away, "Ok fine, but it wasn't YOU who hurt me. It was just…bad memories.."

"The same goes for me, I wasn't mad at you…but the Medical Station brought back a lot of bad memories…I can't remember the number of days and nights I'd spend in them. Sitting by Maria's side and wondering if she'd live to see the morning…." he closed his eyes, "to me….a Medical Station is the last visit before you die. And…..I felt like…" eh paused again, not sure if he could properly say the next part without giving off the wrong impression," I felt like, since you were with me, I felt like I was giving you up….like YOU were at your last stop…." 'like you were going to be taken away from me….' he added in his thoughts. HE watched Claries face become a bit softer, knowing she understood, "And I'm sorry for harassing you about that medal….it was selfish of me…" he closed his eyes again, "Please forgive me…." this didn't' feel like him. He wasn't used to apologizing. He wasn't used to just 'laying it out there'. he missed for just that morning, when they had been arguing through a bathroom door, a playful argument. In which he had to fight to keep from smiling the entire time as Claire had listed off his weird bathroom habits. But he also felt angry, 'why do I keep hiding that? Why can't I just say what makes me happy…..or tell someone THEY make me happy….someone other then my child…'

"It was back in the Marines…."

Shadow opened his eyes, he saw Claire had turned her back to him, her arms still crossed but he could see there was now a lost 'pride' in her stance. Her sunglasses laid folded from her pocket, but Shadow just waited for her to continue

"I had just joined the Marines, completed a few tours, during which I earned the nickname, 'the Wolf Beast'. due to my ferocity in battle and lack of facial expressions. I was cold and aloof, I wasn't proud of it but I got the job. It wasn't too long before I was recommended for Black Ops. I was proud, and accepted on the spot. That's when I met the "Bravo Squad". They were good men, they all had families at home, and they all had pride for their country. And under Captain Oregon, (the toughest Captain I ever served under) we completed many missions. I loved them as though they were my brothers, and they did the same for me. One day ,a few days before we'd be deployed home, we were assigned a mission. 'Deliver a message to our allies in a occupied building in the middle of a war zone.' The message was so top secret that they couldn't even risk writing it down, so they told the Captain and we went on our way. It was easy going at first, but when we almost reached the target, we were ambushed…" she broke off for a moment, her voice having broken for a moment but Shadow was patient, 'my teammates, my squad were all killed. The only survivors were me and the Captain and we were taken as Prisoners of War. They kept the Captain alive in hopes of getting the secret out of him. I was kept alive for a reason I didn't understand at the time. But when we got to their base, I realized that most of the enemy soldiers were like me….humans with Genetic Disruption….we spent months in that hell hole and I barely saw the Captain. He was being tortured, I knew that. They were trying to force the information out of him…and I…" she had to pause again , "I was being experimented on. Apparently they were researching ways to make themselves stronger. And the drugs they were using were too risky to risk their own soldiers….so it was perfect hey had a 'traitor' like me. ...but . OR that's how they saw me…The injections and experimetns were so painful that I would will my body to give up and die...but i never did, if anything they kept making me weaker and that concerned the Enemy.I was even challenged to a fight with the main guy…I won….but I spared him." she gave a cold laugh, "IT was a stupid mistake, the second I turned my back to him I was stabbed in the back by a knife he had been hiding…."

Shadow chose this time to speak up, "is that how you got that injury in your back?"

Claire nodded, not turning to face him, "I was passed out for a while, when I woke up , the Marines were attacking the base, trying to rescue us. Oregon broke into the room I was in and pulled me up, handing me a gun. Telling me we were getting out of there. We ran for it….but I was a little behind him, due to my injuries. Next thing I knew, I was thrown to the ground and Oregon's dead body was on top of me, having shielded me from a bullet. I was devastated; I just started attacking the soldiers in a mad animalistic rage, I lost count on how many fell under my gun. After I ran out of ammunition I made a run for it, dragging the Captain with me as I ran from the buildings, as soon as I saw the tanks and helicopters I collapsed into a soldiers arms. Next thing I knew, I was in a naval hospital…I felt immediate relief at my survival, but then grief slammed into me…" at this point Claire didn't bother to hide her shaking voice, her shoulders shaking the same under emotion, "My only family was dead, my body was ruined after so many experiments to the point that my body tried to give up on me many times during my recovery…..I was given psychological testing and was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and given a honorable discharge…and that Bronze Star for my 'Bravery'. after that I vowed to become a Marine worth the sacrifice of my team….I was brought to G.U.N stronger then ever under a healthy mind…..but…the thoughts kept haunting me….the memories…"

Shadow could hear the rising emotion in her voice and ,before he could stop her, her fist shot out and punched the wall, the metal crunching under her mighty fight, but blood rolled down her shaking hand

"And to this day I still don't understand it." Claire's fist tightened, "Why? Why did I survive? I would of gladly given my life to save my team, I didn't have anything to live for at the time, no one who missed me. I don't deserve it, just like that dam Medal under my bed. Those men had wives and children at home, people who prayed everyday for their safety so why did I, a orphan loner, survive?, "she yelled he last line, her other fist shooting out and catching the wall again.

Shadow felt taken aback by this, he knew that Claire had a difficult past, but he never suspected that the memories that haunted her so much would be so similar to his own. And suddenly he knew why she had been hurt so much by his statement. Because ,even though he hadn't' known it at the time, but she probably understood his pain more then anyone. Before he could stop himself, he strolled forward, a hand on her shoulder (her skin flinching under his hand), "But you're here now…" he said in a gentle tone, now it was his turn to return the favor for the times she helped him through a difficult memory.

"So?" she asked, wiping her eyes, muttering, '"Dam broken tear-ducts."

"You can admit you're crying, its not a sin."

"Marines don't cry."

"That's bull-spit and you know it, Marines cry and they bleed, that's what makes what they do even more extraordinary." he gripped her shoulder a bit tightly, "Claire, you're here, I don't know what I would of done if I hadn't met you. On the field and at home, you've saved my ass so many times. I can't promise I' would of become such a effective father for Sari had not you come into my life and encouraged me to try harder…" he paused for a moment, feeling Claire loosen up slightly, "and knowing now, what you just told me, it doesn't make me belittle you in anyway, it makes me proud that you're my friend…."a thought popping into his head before he could stop it, 'I don't want to imagine my life without you., you or Sari' he felt Claire shake under his hand for a few moments, he knew she was fighting the urge to cry. After a few seconds she finally regained her composure and turned to face him, her eyes red from so much emotion and a small guilty smile on her face, "Sorry you had to stand there and listen to that boring story."

"I'm not, now I understand you a little better now." feeling like this was getting too emotional again he put on a smirk, "Lets head back to the Medical Exam and give Locke a lot of hell. You know, for tricking us."

The wolf eared girl smirked back, the old fire back in her eyes, "Hell yeah."

hope you enjoyed, youknow teh drill, please review!


	16. In Rememberence

Chapter 16

In remembrance

OK a quick warning, this chapter is a bit more graphic then my other ones, more blood and more violence. So please be warned. The funny chapters will return, but it might take another chapter… but there are funny parts in this one still. Its just…a little darker (I know what Hideaki Sorachi)

__

The scorching sun shone down brightly, glaring off of the sand and the assortment of equipment. Men jogged on by, cars stirred up the dirt making it hard for Claire to breath, but she didn't' let it show. The great heat made her feel grateful . She stood away from a group of tall men, Marines themselves. Even though none of them had known each other before they had been assigned a team, they all carried on like buddies. But Claire didn't make eye contact with any of them. They were pure Overlanders, she was Genetically Disrupted. SO many times had she been in public and people would stand away from her, like saints from a supposed leper. She was used to it, and after a while she found herself standing away from them. The normal people who found no fault with themselves. She could always dye her hair and cover her ears, but she refused, she didn't want anything to do with people so vain on appearances. But so ,many times she felt like Hester Prynne, from the Scarlet Letter, and her ears felt like her "badge of shame". Or that's how people saw her, but she wore her ears proudly. Not only was she evolutionary advanced from them, but why gripe over something she couldn't' change. Btu she sighed loudly and closed her eyes ,there was one thing she had to hide, her fingers ran over her sunglasses lightly, 'just another team-"

"Hey Ears!"

Huh? Claire looked around, one of the Marines, a dark-haired boy no older then her, gave her a wave. But she still felt confused, she pointed at herself unsurely

"Yeah you, come on over.'"

'IT must be some sort of trick, a mistake' she thought to herself bitterly. But her curiosity proved stronger then her stubbornness so she walked over, her face wary. The Marines turned to face them, all 10 different, different ethnicity, different hair, even different eyes.

There seemed to be no similarity between any of them besides the fact they all wore cameo, "May I help you?" she asked

"What's your name Ears?"

"Claire Vancouver."

"Claire? That's way too feminine of a name for a Marine, we'll just call you Ears." piped up another Marine, this one had glasses with a thick Spanish accent.

"Ears?" were they mocking her?

"Where are you from, Ears?" This time it came from a older man (24) with dark skin

"Mercia. Originally." with that she turned her head away. She didn't like being interrogated like a threat.

"What's her deal?"

she wasn't sure who this was, but the response was something she'd never forget

"_People of her situation are less likely to be open to others. Even other Marines, but she'll learn to trust us, we can't be a team otherwise."_

_Claire looked back on them, she never did to find out who said that, but it meant a lot to her. She found a small smile on her face. Maybe these people wouldn't be so bad._

_Suddenly a loud voice bellowed, "Marines, Attention!"_

_Instantly they all went into standing, arms at sides in neat line. Claire stood straight, the smile off her face. Strolling up to them was tall man, his body lined with skull crushing muscles and his head covered with a green cameo cap, his face was harsh as his gray eyes glared on them slightly, "Marines! As of now we are Team Bravo, our missions are strictly covert. Our missions will be strict and failure is NOT a option." he ran his eyes over his new team. When it came across to Claire it faltered for a moment, , looking over her ears (which stuck out from under her hat). His eyes seemed to narrow, but then directed his attention back towards the group, "You're training under me starts today, and you better not expect a picnic, understand? "_

_The collected response came from the Unit, Claries voice loud among them, "SIR YES SIR!"_

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"Claire snap out of it!"

"Huh-" suddenly a hand shot and smacked her upside the head, the sudden impact and lack of balance made her stumble forward , she used her hand to bounce off of the G.U.N hallway. After regaining her balance she turned to glare at Shadow, who just stood there arms crossed. His face bored, "Quit day-dreaming and lets get moving. I'm starving."

"Well SORRY if I want to have a flash-back every once in while! Unlike you seem to have one every day, all while doing this." She crossed her arms and put on a squinty glare and her lips pursed. She quickly ducked to avoid his hand (as it made another attempt to hit her) she turned on her combat boot heels to glare at him but then her eye caught something and, though it puzzled her at fir; it made a smile grow on her face, "Wow, to think, you're not even needed in any meetings today but you're wearing PANTS."

Shadow looked down on himself for a moment, he was wearing black cargo pants and a gray t-shirt with a slight v-neck to show a little tuff of his chest hair. Before looking up at her shrugging, his face a bit irritated, "Well I really don't have a choice now. Sari keeps saying ,'how come you don't wear clothes like everyone else? Does that mean I don't have to?'" he growled a bit angrily, "I will NOT let my daughter have thoughts like that!", he

blinked as he watched Claire burst out laughing. Irked he demanded, "What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing." she smiled at him warmly, she walked on ahead, "Come on, you become quite the grouch when your blood sugar gets low."

Shadow glared for a moment more then smirked walking after her, entering the cafeteria. It already full , which was bad for him. Despite his new social experiences he still didn't like people. He especially hated it when they gathered around the food like beasts. He sighed heavily feeling his stomach growl," Dam…"

"Shadow!"

Turning his head he saw Claire walking up to him, holding up two trays. She held out a tray with spaghetti and red sauce. Shadow took the tray, looking over it, "what's on it?" he asked suspiciously

"Tomato sauce, mozzarella, onions, pepperoni, and lettuce. Same as mine. We'll get pepper for yours at the table."

Shadow nodded approvingly, Claire certainly got his food habits right. It brought a smirk on his face. Then put his free hand on her elbow, guiding her through the crowded group. Searching for a empty table. Suddenly Claire grabbed his hand to get his attention, "Lets sit over there."

He blinked and looked over in the direction she had been indicating. Commander Rufus was sitting at a table, his dark red hair was short on his head. His skin was tanned by many years of active duty but he currently sat alone. While Shadow had no grudges against Rufus, he didn't like sitting with people other then Claire, but he saw the look on

Claries face and sighed, "Lets go.".

Claire smiled brightly and pulled him over to the table, "Commander Rufus, can we sit with you?'"

The commander looked at them for a moment before nodding, "Go ahead."

The two both sat down across from him. Throughout the meal they ate in silence, something Shadow didn't like. He was used to talking while he ate but Claire didn't seem to be in the talking mode. Shadow glanced over at Claire, her face was intended on eating, then over at Rufus. Why did sitting with him see so important to her? And then she doesn't even talk? He glared over at Rufus, why did Claire revere him above the other Commanders? It sent a bad feeling into his spine.

"Shadow?"

"Huh?" he looked over to see Claire looking at him oddly, "Yeah?"

"You finished you're desert already, want me to get you another one?"

"Huh?" he looked down on the late to find it true, having been feeling bitter he had eaten his apple-pie without even noticing the taste, and growled slightly

"OH don't be a child." Claire stood up, taking the plates, "I'm going to get us more pie," Then looked over to Rufus (to Shadow's bitterness), "would you like any sir?"

Rufus nodded, and she left. Shadow kept his glare on Rufus ,'what makes him so special?' he thought angrily ( a odd feeling in his chest) 'was it possible that Claire had something more then respect for this human?' he quickly shook his head , 'no of course not, he's way to old for her-"

"Is there a problem Captain Shadow?"

Shadow snapped out of his trance, looking over at Rufus, who looked at him with the same look on his face. (As though he had been wondering the same thing about Shadow),

"Yes" no point beating around the annoying bush," How do you know Claire?"

Rufus looked at him a bit shocked, his eyes narrowing, "Why does it matter?"

"I suppose it doesn't matter." Shadow narrowed his eyes as well. The two sat there for a moment, glaring at each other. Shadow wasn't sure what was going through Rufus's mind. But Shadow could only think about was where he could hide Rufus's body after he got done with him. The air suddenly around the table grew hot and tense (so bad that people in neighboring tables started scooting away) after a few minutes Rufus spoke, "You know Claire used to be in the Corp?"

Knowing he wouldn't be able to talk without growling, he just nodded.

"And you know of her last mission with them? Her last team?"

Shadow nodded again

"Well, I was there."

Shadow blinked in shock, "Where? Why?"

Rufus looked at him, as though studying him, then spoke, "I was in the Corp as well, I was assigned to retrieving the hostages with a team. We couldn't even get inside the building the fire was so heavy. I thought it was a doomed mission. The odds of those two surviving were literally 0% to .3%. But, I kept shooting anyway. Out of the chaos I saw a dark figure, large and bulky run out of the building. I was about to shoot it when I saw a flash of light, which made me pause, long enough to see that the figure was a young girl, malnourished and beaten within a inch of her life, there seemed to be blood all over her…. But she was carrying something on her back, a soldier I knew as Captain George Iason, but it was obvious he was dead. But either she didn't notice or she didn't care. She ran through the battlefield, I ran out to cover her and, getting her to safety. Another Marine tried to pull him away, but she was so delusional she held on to the Captain, but finally she collapsed into my arms. So I supposed she feels she owes me." he simply shrugged.

But Shadow felt his anger only grow, how could he say something like that? Claire obviously TRUSTED Rufus and he treated it like it was nothing? He was probably angrier then he should have been but the thought of Rufus toying with Claire's feelings justified it. Shadow stood up with a scraping of his chair, with a final glare he turned and stormed away.

Claire, holding 3 plates, stepped in front of him, her face concerned, "Shadow are you o-"

"No." he grabbed her wrist and yanked hard after him, (the plate with Rufus's fondue

crashed to the ground), "We are leaving."

"Shad-"

But Shadow couldn't hear her, storming out of the Cafeteria. Blood boiling in his ears, Humans. SO stupid. A deep growl in his throat, Stupid obnoxious, rude, ugly,-

Claire, agitated grabbed Shadow by middle quill (on the back of his head) and yanked hard. There was a giant yelping sound as Shadow froze in his steps, growling he spun around, "Hey! What was-"

"Just talk to me what's going on! Why did we leave Rufus-"

"Rufus, is a stupid egocentric fool who toys with peoples feelings, you shouldn't hangout around him."

"Are you at least going to tell me why? Rufus is a friend-"

"No HE is NOT, I'm you're friend."

"You're both my friends!"

"Yeah but I'm your BETTER friend!" out of frustration he grabbed her ribs again, making a loud squeak erupt, to Claire's anger.

"Dang it Shadow! Don't do that!" in retaliation she yanked on his quill

"Then listen to me dang it!" he grabbed both her ears in frustration

"Ow!" her hands shot out and grabbed two upper hair columns and pulled to either side,

"How can I listen if you try to pull ,my ears off?"

"How can I talk if you keep pulling on my hair?"

Then a voice came out, "Excuse me."

Blinking they turned to the entrance of the Cafeteria to see Commander Rufus standing in the hallway; just looking on the Ultimate Lifeform pulling the ears of the Wolf-Beast who was pulling on the quills of The Ultimate Lifeform. After a few moments of awkward silence Shadow and Claire releases each other. Coughing awkwardly Shadow did his best to put on a professional face, "Yes?"

"Commander Tower wants a word with you."

"Why? We don't have any meetings today."

"Its only for you. They want you." with that he turned and left.

Shadow growled slightly his canine tooth poking out from his lip slightly, then felt the plates Claire ad been carrying being shoved into his hands"What a -" something suddenly ran over his top quill. He blinked confused turning to look at Claire, who suddenly seemed fixated with messing with his hair, he raised his brow confused, "What are you doing?"

"Sorry about pulling your hair, I'm just trying to fix it." she pressed both hands on top of his head, making Shadow wince, "Dang it! Stay down!" she ordered

"Dam it Claire you're giving me a headache!" he passed off the plates to her, "Just take these to our office, I'll be back."

"Oh fine." she started walking away, calling back, "I can't promise you the pie won't be eaten before you get back!"

Shadow growled, not appreciating threats to his deserts, but shook it off. "Time to see what the old goats want." he strolled forward, finding his way to a large door with silver lettering which read "Head Meeting" which made Shadow pause for a moment, so was this more serious then usual. Had they caught word of all the "Anger Management Seminars" he had refused to attend (the slips with the requests made excellent material for burning fire) or had the Nerd Rat finally got the gonads to report all the times when Shadow stole his projector (that somehow ended up on the G.U.N moon base). What ever, it wasn't like it mattered anyway. He simply shrugged and pressed walked on, the door slid open and the room was laid out before him, a c shaped high-rising desk that faced the door, in the chairs were high ranking commanders, the General in the middle with Tower to his left. This left a bitter taste in his throat. The anger over the betrayal he felt, the anger he felt, despite the amount of time that had gone by, would probably never go away. But he just put his fist on his hip, not in the mood, "What do you want?"

General Spruce spoke up, "We have a high class prisoner being transferred to G.U.N base, any day now. We don't even know his arrival due to the highly classified nature of this...situation."

That wasn't unusual, high class prisoners were transferred to Base often. At least ones with information, to be interrogated. If you could call it that, all Shadow knew was that the Interrogators were highly affective. What they did to make them talk, he didn't know, but it made him cringe to even think about it. Shadow glanced at the General, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"You didn't let me finish, his name is Nor Sinister, leader of G.D.A, Genetic Disruption

Alliance, a terrorist group aligned with the Dark Legion, even now, we suspect they might try to get their leader back. But we have that covered."

"So what's the problem? Besides you wasting my time."

"The problem is that the last time Nor was seen was at the Sapphire Desert, just a few days before a rescue mission was dispatched by the Marines to rescue two surviving members of a Marine Black Ops unit.'

The story rang familiar in Shadows ears, but he refused to show it on his face, "You mean Claire."

"Yes, knowing Nors past and tactics, it is a strong possibility that he was behind the experimentations performed on Agent Vancouver, you are to keep her as far away from base as possible. To prevent a meeting between the two."

"Why?"

"During the time Claire was a prisoner, sources told us that he favored her above all the others. He even asked about her many times in custody. And, judging by the psychoanalysis done on the girl in the impending months. we are forced to declare that. Even though she is with in her mental stability, we can't take the risk of her trying to get her revenge on the prisoner."

'Revenge that she deserves,' he though angrily to himself, "fine." he turned to go

"there's one more thing."

Growling angrily, wanting his sugary treat already, then turned to look at Spruce, his grotesque and unpleasant face full of grimace and serious, "What now?"

Spruce wetted his lips slightly, as though trying to buy time then spoke, "It has come to our attention that you and the G.D girl have become close. That you're even living in the same house."

"Yes. SO?"

"So she has your trust? Told you things?"

Already he didn't like where this was going, he crossed his arms, "What of it?"

"There is some vital information we need, something we have tried to pull out of her but found it to be unsuccessful-"

There was a flash of gold and Shadow appeared standing on the table just in front of Spruce, his fist shot out and grabbed him by the tie, pulling tightly with his blazing eyes fixed on the general. Around them Commanders stood up with their numerous guns fixated on Shadow, but he didn't care (worse they could do was ruin his clothes), he pressed his face close to the Generals, his fangs bared, "You expect me to interrogate Claire just so you can add another secret to your collection?" he gripped his tie tighter,

"my loyalty to Claire is stronger then my loyalty to a bitter old man like you!"

"Captain Shadow-"

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Towers pistol not 2 inches from his face. Unthreatened but annoyed Shadow threw the aged General back in his seat before leaping off the table, "I'm out of here." he started heading for the door

Commander Tower finally spoke up, "When we brought Captain Oregon's body was discovered to have his ears cut off."

"he was being interrogated, tortured, what did you expect?" he yelled behind him

"You don't understand, autopsy showed that it was shortly after his death that the cutting was done. But if that's true, It was done in Claries presence, its not the G.D.A way. We need to know if Claire did this, if she did it could-"

Shadow, irritated and impatient grabbed the sliding door and slammed it shut behind him with a giant metal crunching sound. Immediately Towers voice was cut off, leaving Shadow growling in anger, a deep sweat on his brow from containing his energy, "Idiots.' he snarled , storming away. HOW could they accuse Claire of something like that! Were they indicating that Claire was out of her mind? He knew this wasn't true, but what was he going to do with the information he had just been given? Shadow was thinking about all of this when he found himself at the office, he sighed slightly, "I shouldn't tell her.." deciding on this, pondering how he would keep her away from G.U.N. He opened the door and just walked over to his desk ,out of the corner of his eye, he could see Claire sitting and happily eating a slice of Black forest Cake. He sat down and was surprised to see a apple pie with ice-cream on the side at his desk, "Huh-"

"The other one was ruined, so I went to go get another one for you."

Shadow looked up at saw her smiling at him, her face happy,

"How did the meeting go Shadow?"

"It was….fine. Nothing exciting."

"Oh?" smiling she went back to her paper work. She heard Shadows chair scrape as he stood up again but didn't raise her head, "If you're leaving again can you get some more paper from the storage-"

Suddenly she felt something go around her ears, pushing upward as though trying to straighten them out. Ears twitching she looked up and saw Shadow messing with her ears (odd enough) with a look of frustration, "Can I ask what you're doing?"

"You're ears are crooked from when I was pulling on them. I'm just trying to fix them. So stop twitching already!"

"I can't stop twitching it tickles!" she quickly put her hands over her ears, "Knock it off already!"

"Aw dam now I have to start all over you idiot!"

"Leave my ears alone!" thinking of a quick strategy, she put her foot on Shadows stomach and tried to kick herself away.

Shadow, thinking himself smart, grabbed her boot, "Stupid-" but found himself only holding her boot, "What the hell-"

Claire went spinning around in her chair a few times before it slid to a stop a few feet a way, she reached out her leg again to show she had pulled her foot out of her huge combat boots, "Ahha! You need to be more resourceful if you want to bully MY ears!" she declared loudly before tucking her feet under her, Indian style.

Shadow crossed his arms irritated (obviously). Claire simply smiled happily before noticing Shadows face change from his scowl to troubled. Concerned she put on a warm smile, then walked on over to him, "Oh come on, just mess with your own ears, they're furrier then my anyway." she pulled on his ears playfully (even more worried to find him unresisting this time), "Cheer up whatever they said at the meeting, no matter how bad, I'll be here to help you through it, so will all of our friends." then she turned around and picked up her empty plate and started walking towards the fridge, "We still have pizza left over right?"

'its not me I'm worried about. 'he thought to himself sadly, he watched her rummage through the fridge for a moment, his mind in battle. This was now or never.

Claire stood up straight and turned to face Shadow, smiling, pizza on her plate, "Do you want any-"

"G.U.N is transferring Nor Sinister to our base."

Not two seconds later, the wolf girl went rigid with horror. Her eyes having a fixation on him. The fact that those same eyes had been filled with happiness made Shadow sad, so he waited for a moment for a response. When there wasn't any he took a step forward,

"Claire-"

She jumped out of her trance, the plate slipping out of her hands and crashing to the floor into pieces. Grateful for the distraction, Claire got down on her knee and started picking up the pieces, "must have been slick with grease, silly me-"

"I know he's the one who experimented on you Claire."

Claire flinched openly, raising her head slightly to see Shadow kneeling in front of her, his face concerned. She stopped picking up the pieces for a moment, her hands shaking slightly but she got them to stop, "Why did G.U.N tell you?"

"They want me to keep you off base for a few days, until they transfer him off again."

"They are worried I might want revenge?"

Shadow nodded, Claire closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again, "I'm not the kind of person recklessly goes after revenge.," she looked at Shadow with a tired look on her face, "But if it makes G.U.N feel better I'll stay away."

Shadow smiled slightly, happy that Claire felt more obliged to her fellow man then he did. He reached forward ad gripped her shoulder gently before pulling the glass pieces out of her hand and throwing them away before standing up and turned to start walking back to his desk. Claire's hand shot out and grabbed his calf , suddenly Shadow found himself waving his arms wildly, trying to keep balances, "DA-DDAD-AAM IT Claire LET GO BEFORE I -" before he could stop himself he fell flat on his face with a painful WHAM! At first Shadow just laid there, moaning before raising his head slowly, to see Claire right by him. Sitting cross-legged , a smirk on her face, but this smile brought him no happiness. Aggravated he propped his head up on his arm to look at her properly, "You do realize that we had just had a nice conversation, right?"

"Yes, but Shadow…." she put a hand on his shoulder," Never change ok? The fact you're cold and self-protective around those you don't trust….but you're kind enough to be warm to your child. Never change."

These words surprised him, Shadow blinked as he listened to the words. Was this really coming from the girl who had just horse-bit his calf? "Claire, where did that come from-"

"Oh nothing." Claire smiled again, standing up. She held her hand out to him. Shadow paused then smiled. Taking her hand he pulled himself up, "Claire-"

There was a knocking sound on the door, turning towards it (annoyed at the interruption),

"Come in."

The door slid open to reveal Espio, Knuckles, and Sonic. Obviously confused at the sight of Claire and Shadow. Knuckles raised his eye brows, "Claire? Shadow? What are you doing?"

At first Shadow didn't understand why they looked so perplexed, but then he noticed that, not only was he standing not 2 inches from Claire, but that he was still having a firm grip on her hand. Flushing he released it and crossed his arms with a scowl on his face, "What now?"

"Nothing, I was called in by the G.U.N Commander Rufus, " (Shadow instantly growled at the sound of his name), "And we thought we'd stop by to see you-"

"Unless you two are doing something private." cut in Sonic, his eyebrows raised.

Shadows face blushed for a moment before his scowl turned darker, "What are you insinuating, Faker?"

"Oh nothing." There was a flash pf blue and Sonic was standing in between Shadow and Claire, back to Shadow, "Hey Claire, want to play a game?"

"Faker."

But Claire was too intrigued and asked, "What is it?"

This brought a mischievous smirk to Sonics face (At this point Shadow really wanted to tear his eye-brows off), "Its called, 'Keep away from Shadow!"

Remembering this game sent Shadow into a rage, "Sonic-" but Sonic and Claire had already disappeared in a blue streak that disappeared at the door he barreled past Knuckles and Espio (sending them flying) and stopped at the door, gripping the door frame and peering into the hallway desperately only to find it empty, "Dam you Faker!" he yelled angrily a hand touched his arm, he turned to see Espio looking at him with a alarmed/trying-to-be-comforting look on his face (Comparable to a tamer approaching a rabid lion),

"Shadow, Sonics just trying to get on your nerves, you know that."

"Yeah well, he's succeeding a little!" he tried to pull away but Knuckles grabbed him by the other shoulder

"We'll just start looking around, he'll get bored eventually ok?"

Shadow growled, but gritted his teeth, "Fine."

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Sonic laughed wildly as he disappeared into a blue streak, dragging Claire behind him easily. The look on Shadows face was priceless! He couldn't help but feel satisfied as he zoomed easily through the building. Suddenly something jerked on his Claire dragging arm bringing him to a complete stop (so forceful his arm almost jerked out of socket) turning he saw that Claire had planted her heels into the ground, her face wasn't amused,

"Sonic. You're going to make Shadow kill you."

"Its jus a game, don't worry-"

"Yeah well I am."

Sonic turned to look at her fully, realizing she really didn't appreciate the game at all. So

he sighed , "OK we'll play for a few more minutes then we'll head back."

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"When I get my hands on that faker I'm going to tear his arms off, and put his nose on his nubs, and his nubs on his eyes, and his eyes on his ears and his ears on his-"

Espio and Knuckles looked at each other exasperated, Shadow had been ranting like that for a while now (his list of threats he was going to do to Sonic sounded a lot like the "dry bones" song). Shadow was storming in a fit of rage, glaring down each hallway in hopes of seeing the blue blur or Claire's white hair, "I hate that hedgehog-"

Knuckles decided to speak up, "You know it was just a joke-"

But Shadow didn't seem to hear him (or care) when suddenly 3 guards stepping in front of him, his scowl turning dark, "Move soldiers." he ordered

"Sorry Captain Shadow, we have a dangerous prisoner being transferred in. The way he's being transported is being heavily guarded to prevent his escape."

"Prisoner?" the rage Shadow felt suddenly disappeared, there was no way…..was it-. There was the sound of footsteps clunking down the hallway opposite of the intersection. Shadow could barely hear his friends trying to get to him, but he didn't care…then a unit of 5 guards suddenly came into view, all heavily armored with masks to over their face. In the midst's of their heavy circle walked a tall man with bony limbs, his twig like figure being covered in a thin, scratchy dark orange prison clothing. His skin was almost yellow, his long brown hair running down his face as he walked hunched over, his limbs heavily cuffed together. The man tilted his head back , appearing looking to the guards, "So you still refuse to tell me?" when the guards didn't answer, he gave a small rat-like chuckle,

"Now now you can tell Sinister me, its just a itty bitty question." he leaned his head close to the guard to his left, but was heavily shoved back, his voice becoming high pitched and whiny, "OH can' you tell me where my Claire-Bear is? My sweet Claire-Bear must miss me so much-"

"Claire?" Shadow felt anger shoot through him, he shoved through the 3 guards in his way and stood in the intersection. The guards who had been guarding Nor, suddenly turned their guns to Shadow. But Nor's face just turned into a skull-like grin, "You know my Claire Bear boy?" when he saw the scowl on Shadows face he just chuckled, "Oh how can you know my Claire Bear if you have such a scowl on you face?"

"I know Claire, and I know what you did to her you sick ba-"

Nor burst out laughing again though, "oh I know that face so well, such a colorful emotional face. Is that…jealously? Dear Boy?"

"Jealously?" what was this sicko getting at?

"You are jealous of me, of all the time me and Claire-Bear had together in my base, " his hollow eyes turned dark and glared on him joyfully, "The jealousy that I was able to….do things to her you could only dream of_"

There was a roar of anger as Shadow launched himself at the troop, ready to tear the laughing lips off of Nor Sinister, he felt Espio's and Knuckles hands grab him and drag him back, but he planted his feet, breathing heavily. The troop had started moving quickly, so Shadow yelled after him, "G.U.N will make you pay for everything you ever did to Claire! And those Marines! If they don't I will!"

The voice of Nor, still singing, called back, "Dear Boy I don't plan on being here that long!" then they disappeared

Espio, sensing rage still moving through Shadow , spoke gently, "He was jus trying to get under your skin, more then likely he'll face execution. Don't worry."

Shadow scoffed , pulling his arms away, "As if I was worried about that." he turned and walked the other way, "I'm going to find Claire and get her off of the base." but the mans words kept ringing in his ears, 'I don't plan on being here that long!'

Why did those words worry him so much?

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Claire sighed heavily as Sonic continued to drag her through the hallways , walking, How much longer was he expecting to keep this up? "You know, either Shadow's going to kick your butt or I will."

"Yeah yea yeah." Sonic simply grinned back at her. Claire couldn't' help but smile back exasperated, she knew Sonic was a good guy, this was just his way of teasing Shadow. A figure walked in front of them and they stopped for a moment. Claire couldn't tell who it was (sonic being in the way) but Sonic recognized the person immediately, "Hi Commander Tower!"

Tower? Claire immediately touched her sunglasses, making sure they were still in place before looking over, it was Tower alright. But his face wasn't happy at all. Tower ignored Sonic and looked right at Claire, "What are you still doing here Vancouver?"

"she works here, duh."

Once again, Tower ignored him," Didn't Shadow tell you, you had to leave base?"

Claire nodded, "Yes sir, but only when the prisoner was being transferred here."

But the look on Towers face (of uneasiness) spoke it all, and Claire felt her heart give a painful thump, was that day today? Was Nor in this very building-

Suddenly explosions filled the building, the ground and walls jerked under Claire and Sonic, sending them flying. Claire fell back into the wall with a crack through her back, she cringed, trying to keep from crying out as the old injury acted up, "what the hell is going on?" She yelled. Through the broken lights, she could see Tower with his walkie-talkie out, already on the case,

"What the hell is going on? This is Tower"

A static voice came over, "Eggman's robots are attacking base, seeming to be here to liberate Dr. Nor Sinister. Please verify if there are any survivors with you."

"I have Agent Claire and Sonic with me. What's the position on Sinister?"

"We lost contact on the troop escorting him, attempts to contact them have been futile."

"Keep us posted soldier." Tower hung up and looked over at the two, "Did you two catch that?"

Claire and Sonic nodded grimly. A tight feeling rising in her throat, Nor was free and everyone was in danger of being killed. Her mind automatically went to Shadow, praying that he was ok.

"Our best chances to go and regroup with another team. Then we will come up with a bigger plan."

Claire nodded again, she reached for her side arms and pulled out one of her pistols, handing it over to Sonic, but he just waved his hand, "No thanks, I don't' use guns."

Tower walked past them, peering into the hallway opposite them, then looked back at them, "Claire, you walk in the middle and provide support for me when asked, Sonic, you get in the back so its easier to use your speed."

The two nodded, and did as they were told. Tower gave the hallway one last check before he said, "Aright, lets march."

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Shadow roared in rage, tearing through a egg-bot like it was paper mache'. all around him, the building had erupted in chaos. He had lost sight of Espio and Knuckles a long time ago, but he knew they could take care of themselves. Right now he had to find Claire. He reached into his pocket and drew out a grenade, peering to his left and seeing a group of robots charging at him, he threw it, instantly tearing them on impact. He could see a small group of survivors huddled around a man, who was currently working on a radio, he could faintly hear ,"Please verify if there are any survivors with you."

Shadow saw another group amassing on the soldiers and ran forward, spinning through them easily before sliding to a halt. He gave the room one last check (all the robots lying in ruin) before he started walking over to the group again, "You alright soldiers?" he asked

When the battle weary troop nodded, Shadow felt some relief, At least there was some good news. He was about to walk away when he heard the radio crackle to life again, "I have agent Vancouver and Sonic with me."

"Claire?" he ran forward grabbing the radio, but Tower had already left. He turned to the operator and asked, "Where was their last location!"

"Level 2.B-9-"

Shadow ran out of the room as fast as he could, his gun at his side and ready to fire. He could heard footsteps joining his and knew that Knuckles and Espio had joined him. Everyone else could hold their own, it was G.U.N after all. But right now Shadow only had one goal in mind:

Find Claire and Sonic before Nor did.

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Claire waited in anticipation as Tower once again brought down another robot with his gun. 'They are everywhere' she thought to herself bitterly. Reminded of her days of service, this was no different then night battle, only with walls and ceilings; the enemy had a greater chance of finding them. Glancing behind her she saw Sonic standing there, his face dead serious as he kept his keen ears on high alert. It was hard to believe that , just a half hour ago, he had been running around playing "keep away" with Claire as the

"Keep" and the away being "Shadow". she was grateful Sonic knew when to take things seriously. Speaking of Shadow, he must be worried and if he was half as worried as she was about him then-

"Vancouver! Keep your head in the zone! This is no time for daydreaming!" shot Towers harsh words through her thoughts.

Claire jumped, griping her pistol tightly. Tower gave her one last Claire glare before moving forward, a signal of his hand indicating for the other two to follow. Claire kept low and hurried after him, unfortunately Sonics loud shoes (usually quiet when he was at high speeds) clattered loudly against the floor, but after a few seconds he was able to shift his running style to muffle it. Claire smiled back at him thankful.

The radio speakers suddenly roared to life, crackling loudly and filling the halls with painful squeaking sound. Claire felt pain shoot through her sensitive ears, the lack of balance making her squeeze her eyes shut in agony as she stumbled, gun free hand to her ears as se stumbled. Her shoulder slamming into the wall. She felt a hand grab her shoulder shaking her gently, "Claire are you ok?" came the sympathetic voice of Sonic.

"Yeah-"

Then the voice came over the speakers, a cold bubbly voice that sounded more like fingernails over chalkboard, "Claire…Claire…"

The wolf eared girl felt her heart stop and her eyes widen, 'NO…its can't be….." her hand went over her mouth as she fought the urge to vomit as his voice brought back painful memories. How manu nights had she been a victim to his expeiments? Unable to do nothing as he would inject her with drugs, his voice having a false soothing tone to it...the memories madde her squeeze her eyes shut in pain. She felt Sonic put a hand on her back, but she forced herself to stand up straight, this was no time for weakness, she gripped her gun tightly with both hands. Right now they needed to find Nor and get the situation under control.

"Clairrrrreeeeee…its been so long hasn't it? Far far too long. How I have dreamt of one day seeing you again, my sweet prisoner…..its too bad you hold so many of my secrets…..I'm sorry to say you can no longer be allowed to live-"

There was a huge flash of light that filled the entire hallway, to protect her eyes Claire put her arm in front of her eyes, she forced them open to try and see what was going on when something appeared in front of her. Horror welled through her heart as she recognized the hollow eyed skeleton of Nor Sinister. His smile wide and crazy as it used to be, "Farewell, my Claire-bear." he raised a black gun (Probably from a security guard) so fast Claire couldn't react in time to stop it from being aimed right in her face, or the gunshot that followed a few seconds later.

She heard Sonic shout her name and she shut her eyes, expecting to feel the bullet pierce her eye and the death that would follow. But it never came, there was another shout from Sonic, the running of footsteps, and something heavy falling to the floor. Opening her eyes, she saw Tower laying on the floor, blood running out of a bullet wound in his chest, drowning his normally black uniform. Sonic was by him, putting his hands over the wound in a meager attempt to stop the blood, Sinister was nowhere to be seen Claire felt puzzled as she tried to take it in, "Wh-what-"

"Claire!"

Claire blinked and came back to the world, quickly she knelt on the other side of Tower, her hands joining Sonics. They had to stop the bleeding, but why! Why had Tower done that? Claire leaned forward to but more pressure on when she saw something move. Looking under her she saw it was the Commanders blood covered hand, slowly rising, as though it was taking all its meager power to do one thing. Claire watched it slowly rise up, past shoulder level to Claire's face, the weak fingers caressed her face very gently (it almost seemed like a accident) before hooking under Claire's sunglasses, and releasing its strength, so both hand and sunglasses fell to the ground with a clang.

Instinctively Claire pulled one hand (that had been on the wound )and put it over her eyes, 'No. Not now.' she thought to herself desperately. Then, slowly raised her head again, seeing first Sonics' face. His eyes wide as he looked at her discolored eyes. But his response didn't matter, her gave fell on Towers, who was looking at her with a look of completely sadness, and regret. He opened his mouth and spoke 3 words , "I….I'm…..sorry….."

I'm sorry? Claire felt shaking and a feeling of being outside reality. A numbness filled her body as she stood up slowly, 'I'm sorry?'

"Claire what are you doing?" Sonic, still fighting to save Tower. Who still stared at Claire.

Claire closed her eyes as the numbness began to fade as the stronger, more dangerous emotions well over. She suddenly heard a clicking sound of a gun clicking behind her head, a robotic voice speaking, "Surrender to the Eggman Empire, Sinister has deemed you a priority-"

Claire watched Sonic watch her with his eyes wide and worried. But she ignored that, what she couldn't ignore was the feeling inside of her that was consuming the numbness; forcing the grip on her gun so tight that she felt her skin open slightly, mixing with the blood of her dying father.

****

"I'm sorry."

What the hell did hat even mean?

The robot spoke again, "You are to die at the hands of Sinister and Sinister alone." its robotic hand reaching out and grabbing herby the arm. Probably to drag her back to the hell hole Eggman base and be killed 'properly' by Sinister….

But she had other plans.

She spun around and tore her gun through the air, going right through the metal robot easy. Not two seconds later she set off running through the hallway. Barely oblivious to Sonic shouting after her.

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Shadow's ears flinched as a gunshot through the air, sticking out among the already numerous gun-fires that rang through the air (numbers of G.U.N soldiers pushing back the invaders). Dangerously close, he slid to a stop slightly, a feeling of dread coming over him (Espio and Knuckles stopping behind him confused). Did it have something to do with Claire? Immediately (by listening to the echoes of the gun shot) he pinpointed the direction of the gun fire. he made a left and hurried.

After just a minute, the back of Sonic the hedgehog came into view, kneeling in front of something (obstructed in Shadows vision). Shadow felt his heart give a painful thump in terror, "No." he slid forward only to see Tower lying in front of Sonic. The feeling of relief only lasted two seconds before guilt set in. Judging by the bullet hole; Commander Tower wasn't' going to make it very long. He knelt down , looking to Sonic, "What happened? Where's' Claire?"

Sonic looked up at Shadow for a moment, his eyes red with grief as he fought to keep Tower alive, s futile effort, "We were on our way to meet you but there was a flash of light and Sinister was there, he tried to shoot Claire but Tower…..Tower put himself in the way…..I don't know what happened next but…-"

Shadow noticed Claire's sunglasses laying in Towers hand and realized what happened, but didn't speak of it," Where did she go?"

"She froze for a moment, but ten a robot appeared behind her. She destroyed it then ran off down the hallway. It looked like she was heading to the hangars-"

'OF course, she's probably going after Sinister.' he growled slightly and turned to stand up

when a hand shot out and grabbed his. Looking down he saw Tower looking at him, pleadingly, "Wait….a moment…..please…"

Shadow, unable to deny the dying man, knelt down, "Yes Commander?" fully addressing him for the first time since he met Claire

"You…you need to know…..so you can tell her…."

"Claire you mean?"

"Yes…." he coughed slightly, "I never wanted to give her up….as a baby…I never wanted that…"

"then why did you do it?" he almost couldn't stop the growl that was threatening to rise in his throat

"G-G.U.N….General Spruce…wanted…..a…..a experiment….."

"What kind of experiment?"

"The-they wanted to test…..the will…..of human…how far man would go….to belong….to succeed….how much the mind could take….th-they found out about my illegitimate child the day she was born….when it was discovered she had G-Genetic Disruption….s-she was chosen….it was seen as humane…."

"Humane?" he couldn't stop the anger in his voice this time "Why the hell didn't you stop them? DO you even know of half the hell she's' gone through?" he demanded loudly

"I-I tried to stop them….but they overpowered me….I fought so hard…but they threatened to take my son as well….they told me….I could name her….that was all…I named her Claire….after her mother…..the nurse….." he coughed loudly, "I was forbidden from making contact….I wanted to protect her….so badly….every time she was shoved down though…she'd stand back up…." he looked Shadow through his fading eyes, "Now…I must ask you….a selfish favor….please…." his hand gripped Shadows arm with surprising strength, "Protect her….protect my Claire…."

"Claire doesn't need protection….she's strong in every way."

"Yes…but she has…human weaknesses….vulnerable skin…and a human heart…I-I don't want to see either break so please….please…"his voice became weaker as he breath became rapid his end coming he looked Shadow dead in the eye, "Protect her…protect Claire…."

Shadow felt emotion sting his eyes, but he properly gripped Towers hand with one hand and his free hand over his heart, a pledge to a dying man the last thing he could do, "I will…."

Towers eyes felt with relief. Fading, the hand Shadow had been holding fell limp. He closed his eyes as sadness fell over him, 'Why…..hwy did any of this need to happen?' he stood up. He could see Sonic on his hands and knees, tears pouring out of his eyes as Espio and Knuckles knelt by him. Shadow couldn't' blame Sonic, the Hero of Mobius took it very hard when he couldn't save someone…that's why made Shadow Respect him. He turned to the hallway Claire had gone, "I will." he repeated his last words to Tower, then set off running in a gold flash.

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Sinister ran down the hallway laughing wildly, almost relieved that White-haired fool had jumped in the way. Now he could take Claire-Bear to Eggman's place and properly deal with her there. The concept made him laugh even louder, adding a skip to his run. Finally the door flew open and he could see Eggman, sitting in his Hover Egg, Finitevus. Sat on the edge, grinning at the mad man, " Hello Sinister, you look happy to be free."

"Indeed I am, I've been in chains for far too long."

Grinning Finitevus reached down to take his hand, Sinister reached to take it and freedom-

A giant explosion erupted from the hallway Sinister had just exited. Making Eggman cry out in shock , "Good Gravy!"

Looking, Finitevus saw something walking through the flames, a person? Who'd be so reckless, he growled heavily, no matter, the flames would ear the person up before too long-

But it wasn't so, the orange flames twisted around the figure before opening stepped out of the flames, black smudged covering her white hair and burns all over her arms, her gun in her hand smoking in reaction to rapid use and the fire. But her eyes were fixed thoroughly on Sinister.

Nor, at first looked frightened then overjoyed, "This is wonderful! I was wondering when I would get the chance to see you again, and here you are! Now, why don' we leave with Eggman so I can deal with you…properly-"

A grenade flew from Claries hand to Sinister's right, exploding and sending him flying to the lefft, sliding across the floor. Eggman cried out in shock, quickly backing up the Hover-Egg. Finitevus gripped the egg for dear life, snarling back at Eggman, "You fool! WE need Sinister to accomplish our plans!'

"Are you crazy? That girl is going to kill us all! We're leaving!" with that The Hover Egg shot into the air with great speed (Finitevus cursing and screaming all the way). Sinister stumbled back, his eyes wide with horror as Claire started walking towards him. Her Gold and Blue eyes glaring on him unheedingly. He put on a smile though, tinged with nervousness, ""Come now, you wouldn't really-"

Claire threw another grenade, "This is for the Marines you killed!"

Sinister stumbled back the grenade landing just in front of him, desperate ,"Come on Claire I wasn't really going to kill you-"

There flew another one, "This is for every solider you sacrificed to your cause!"

"Claire, Claire-Bear please listen-" this one landed right at his feet, the blast sending him flying back, the shrapnel piercing his face and arms, blood running from his wounds and pain showing him the dire situation clearly., his true colors showing

"THIS." she threw another one, coming closer by the seconds, "Is for all the G.U.N soldiers you killed today!"

"Claire I'm begging you" he fell on his back, his eyes wide with horror. But Claire stood over him, gun out and aimed right at his eyes

"And this…..is for me…"

Sinister felt tears fill his eyes, he fell forward gripping her cameo pants, "Please don't kill me….please please please…."he begged as he began to sob his head bowed.

Claire felt disgusted, no longer was he the sick man who had tortured her for months. Now he was a coward, begging for his life…her hand willed for her to pull the trigger, to end his life and bring peace to herself…..But her heart wouldn't allow it….., "You're going to pay for all the death you have caused...but I have no right decide wether you live or die..." she

Shadow ran in just as Claire stepped away from Sinister, (him now on his elbows sobbing). She turned back and saw him, tears in her eyes but a relieved smile on her face. Shadow couldn't' help but share the smile, as they began to walk towards each other,

Peace fell over Shadow. It was over…

Suddenly gunshot filled the air, something shot into Claire's from behind, her face widen with pain before collapsing, despair falling over Shadow immediately, "CLIARE!" he shouted, he caught her in his arms, blood welling up over her coat, panic welled through his chest, "No!", enraged He raised his head and saw Sinister standing up, gun in one hand and a grenade he had taken from Claire in the other, his face laughing wildly and manically, "We'll go to hell together!" he laughed holding his hand out to the side, the grenade tight in it, Shadow could only watch helplessly as it fell through the air. The world seeming to slow around them in this crucial moment.

Something blue shot by Shadow and grabbed Sinister, running the opposite side of the hangar, but al Shadow could do was quickly turn his back to the falling grenade, Claire in his arms. Explosions filled the air and fire slammed into Shadows back, he yelled out in pain before his world was filled with darkness

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Shadow woke up in shock, gasping for air, the room was dark, a fanit light coming froma table lamp by the bed, and his body was aching. Someone had removed his shirt and wrapped his in bandages. He closed his eyes as he breathed in slowly, trying to remember what had happened. The initial explosion suddenly came back and he sat up frantic,

"Claire!"

"Daddy?"

Blinking he looked ot the side and saw Sonic sitting by his bed, Sari standing with her hands on his knees, her gold eyes wide with worry, "Daddy?"

"Sari." very gently he lifted her into his arms, hugging her comforting, "Its aright Angel."

The little girl burred her face into his shoulder, "Daddy they wouldn't let me see Mommy, I asked really nice and everything."

"they didn't?" he looked over at Sonic, his face deep with concern,' IS she alight?" he asked, keeping his voice level. Sonic nodded, "Your body took much of the damage, but right now she's going into surgery."

"Surgery?"

"Its to repair the damages from the bullet wound, From the gun shot by Sinister."

"Sinister!" he put a hand on the back of Sari's head his pinky and thumb over her ears to keep her from hearing about the man who almost killed them, "What happened to him?"

"I pulled him from the bomb in time, he's in jail right now. He's going to face execution for his war crimes."

Shadow sighed happily, rubbing his shaking child on the back as he tried to comfort her. But then looked at Sonic again," Can we see Claire? Before her surgery?"

Sonic nodded standing up, and taking Sari, "Put on a shirt then meet us outside." he walked over to the table and pulled on a white t-shirt. Carefully he pull it on over his bandages. Grimacing heavily as his body protested the movement. Peering on the table he saw a gun, one that Claire had probably on her when the explosion occurred . He sighed sadly and put it on his belt before he waked out the door. Once again taking Saris hand and nodded to Sonic. Nodding back they made their way down the hall. Now that Shadow could see, he could tell they were in Haven which brought him relief. But his thoughts darkened at the thoughts of all the soldiers that had died….the funerals of his coworkers he would have to attend…including Towers…he closed his eyes as he thought of all the things he had been told. The truth about Claire, Towers true feelings…how was he going to tell her?

Finally Sonic stopped at the door, opening it slowly, "you can only be in here for a little bit."

Shadow nodded, feeling Sari grip his hand tighter, he walked in. across the room lay on a hospital bed. Her normally firm and strong form looked small and weak under the massive blanket. Her dirt covered hair had been cleaned from the battle. Air mask was over her mouth to support her breathing. Shadow and Sari walked over to the bed slowly. Sari gripped the edge of Claire's bed gently, "Mommy?" she asked she reached out to touch her, but Shadow took her hand very gently, "Sari, don't try to wake her." his voice was deep and hushed

"Why?"

"Claire's very hurt right now, she needs all the sleep she can get, angel." he saw the distress on her face, he sighed, "Why don't you wait outside with Sonic?"

"C-Can I at least give Mommy a kiss before I go?"

At first Shadow was going to say no, but he saw the sadness on her face, "A small one."

Sari nodded and walked over to the bed, standing on her tipsy toes, she leaned over carefully and planted a small kiss (with the delicacy of a butterfly) on Claire's cheek before walking out of the room sadly. Shadow watched her go, making a mental to make it up her later. When he heard the door close he walked closer to the bed and kneeling by it, gently pressing his hand on the bed, the fabric soft under his hand. At firs he just ran his hand over the covers, watching it before looking at Claire's sleeping form. Feeling awkward he just began to talk , "Hey there….I'm glad to see you made it through the explosion…..we've been blown up a lot though…what is this the 25th time we've been blown up this week?" he gave a weak chuckle, but it only made him smile for a second before the sadness came back, he stood up, deciding that it was time to go and be with his child, but suddenly he heard a small muffled sound coming from Claire, turning around he saw her lips were moving. Slightly intrigued he walked over and leaned over her gently, listening carefully, wondering what dreams were going through her mind. Closing his eyes, he tried to listen better but then he felt something being pulled from his belt and the sound of a gun clicking. Opening his eyes, he saw Claire's furious gold and blue eyes glaring back, hissing quietly, "get. Off. Me. Now."

Shadow just chuckled though, "You know I like to listen to you talk in your sleep, speaking of which you should really get back to it so I can hear the rest of what you were saying."

But Claire's eyes were cold and angry, she moved the gun to the front and pressed it against his forehead, "I'm serious Scum, get off me now."

The cold realization hit him hard when he saw she wasn't kidding. Worried he gently put his hand on the other side of her getting closer and wondering if she didn't see him properly, his free hand reaching to touch her face ( trying to calm her down), "Claire its ok you're safe-" her foot shot out and launched him away from her, slamming into the opposite wall, his chest screaming in pain on impact and made him fall on his knees, he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to understand what was going on. He tried to get up but then saw Claire dragging herself out of the medical bed, her bandaged body wrapped in a white hospital style dress. Her blazing eyes never leaving his as she use a iv to pull herself out of bed ad onto shaky legs. He immediately held out his hand in warning, "You're about to have surgery, you can't be up-"

"Oh please, and have you trying to take advantage of me again?" she used her thumb to cock the gun, "Now tell me where the Captain is."

"Captain?" he looked at her oddly, was she joking? He held his hands out to show he meant no harm, standing slowly, "What Captain-"

"Don't joke with me! You've had me and Captain George Oregon hostage here for months now. I know he's here.

"Captain Oregon? Claire, its me Shadow-"

"I don't care about your name just take me to Oregon!"

Shadow thought quickly, did she not remember him? He was about to talk again when the door flew open. Claire grabbed Shadow and yanked him over to him, pressing his back to her front with a arm around his neck and one gun pressed to his temple. Sonic and Knuckles (along with Espio, Vector, Locke and Spectre) ran in. Although Sonics face was confused and nervous at first but then became smirked, "Oh Shadow, did you try to kiss her in her sleep again? What have I told you about that!"

"I didn't'!" he yelled (hoping Sari didn't hear that)

Claries arm around Shadows neck tightened as her hand shook slightly from the effort,

"Quit joking please, take me to the Captain."

Sonic looked confused, "Captain-"

Shadow grabbed Claries arm, releasing the pressure on his neck, "Sonic, she doesn't remember us, Captain Oregon is her old Captain from the War-"

"I'm not playing around here." her face was dead serious, "I have no problem blowing his head off."

Sonics voice suddenly lost his joking nature, "Claire, we're not going ot hurt you, but can you please listen-"

Suddenly Claire released Shadowand slammed her foot at his knees, he fell forward then felt her foot slam onto his back again making him fall flat on his stomach, he saw her rush forward, "Claire no-" his ribs ached and he couldn't move, Sonic quickly knelt by him, "Shadow are you ok-"

Claries hand grabbed Sonic by the quills and threw him at Locke Spectre (making all four of them fall in a heap). Vector rushed forward, "I don't want to hit a girl but I will if I have-"

Claire rushed to the side and brought a fist to Vectors face, making him slam into Espio, spun around, ducked as Knuckles leapt at her, her fist shooting out and slamming right in the area where his armpit connected with his chest with a nasty crunch. Pain shot through Knuckles face as he stumbled back, gasping for air weakly his body paralyzed in excruciating pain. Claire turned around again, but Spectre stood back up, chaos energy shot out of his hand and slammed right into her injured collarbone. Blood ran down the reopened wound as she stumbled back, the gun dropping from her hand. Spectre leapt in front of her and raised his hand again, but Shadow rage shoot through him. He leapt forward and slammed his shoulder into Spectre's chest, making him stumble back, away from Claire, the dark echidna looked up at him bitterly, "You better have a good reason for this-"

"Just give me a moment" Shadow turned to look at Claire, who was currently standing at the far wall, her back to the corner and her hand over her injured collarbone, her face puzzled, "What….what's going on? I-I didn't have this injury before….my hair wasn't this long before"

"Mommy?"

Shadow spun around, Sari was standing in the doorway, her face confused.. She walked further straight for Claire but Shadow quickly picked her up, "What are you doing?" he demanded trying t keep his voice calm but unable to hide the frantic nature in his eyes.

"Mommy's hurt, I was trying to help her."

Before Shadow could come up with a explanation to his daughter for why her mother figure was bleeding and cornered, a confused voice came out from the corner, "Mother?"

Shadow looked up to see Claire's gaze fixed on Sari, as though she didn't quite understand something, "Why did you call me that?"

"Because you're my Mommy."

"I don't have a daughter, you're mistaken. "Then glared at Shadow hard, 'What the hell did

you do to me while I was passed out?"

"nothing!" but he felt hopeful. A while ago, Claire had told Shadow that she the people she trusted in the world on first meeting was A)Marines and B) kids from the ages of 2-7. Marines because she was one, and kids because they couldn't' lie well until they were 8. This could help

Sari spoke again, calm as if they were having a normal conversation (probably not understanding what was going on), 'You're not my real Mommy, neither is Daddy. But Daddy adopted me then he became friends with you. You're my Mommy."

"Mother….." Claire looked extremely confused, then pain shot across her face as she grabbed her head, she panted for a few seconds, before she looked at Sari again, eyes wide, "Sari…you're Sari…"

"Right Mommy! I'm Sari!" she pointed behind her to the others, "Those are our friends, I call them Uncle, but you just call them 'Knuckles, Sonic, Boogeyman" (Spectre cursed, "Dang it,")," Espio, Uncle Vector, Papa Locke. They're al really nice. "

Claire's eyes fell on them, recognition seeming to be coming back, "And…..and I work…..for G.U.N?"

Sari nodded eagerly

Claire nodded slowly, memories seeming to be coming back, then she looked at Shadow bitterly," And whose the creeper?"

"Dang it I'm not a-"

Sari's arms fell around his neck, "This is my Daddy! You two are the bestest of friends! You like old movies and popcorn! And pizza! And guns!"

"Your father?" Claire's face filled with horror at the concept, going through everything. Shadow gently handed Sari over to Sonic before walked back over ot Claire slowly his eyes never leaving her insanely confused ones. Her eyes narrowed again as she stepped away from him, "Watch it. "she warned

Shadow kept distance, keeping eye contact, "Claire, I know its hard to understand this, it is 3 years from the time you were a prisoner. You were honorably discharged from the Marines with a bronze star and a purple heart. You went and joined G.U.N, that's how you met me."

"Why?" Claire demanded, "Why was I discharged? And what happened to Oregon?"

Shadow looked at Claire sadly, at war for a second then he spoke, "After Sinister experimented on you for months he challenged you to a fight and you won."

Claire nodded, "That's the last thing I remember."

"the Marines came after that. Oregon took advantage of this to free you. You were escaping when he was-."

"Shot." completed Claire, her eyes widening with recognition, a memory flashing in her eyes.

The building was in chaos, the back of Oregon running in front of her, his gun at his side as he shot oncoming enemies, glances through the windows showed Marines attacking the base from tanks and helicopters. The thought that all of them had come to save them made her heart lift a little bit. But right now her body, weak from months of abuse and her back injury made it hard for her to run, the gun drooping and only being held by her fingertips.

"Double time Marine!" yelled the Captain head of her.

Claire nodded and hurried, he had to make it. Suddenly the Captain slid in his steps and shoved Claire back as hard as he could, her small body flying back as bullets ran into Oregon's body, puncturing his chest repeatedly

"CAPTAIN!" she screamed, running forward she quickly shot the invaders before running to the Commanders side, blood was already leaking from his numerous wounds, over his shirt, his looked down on his injuries for a moment before resting his head on the ground, aggravated,

"Ah hell, the Leathernecks get here and I don't get to live long enough to greet them. Just my luck."

Claire shook her head quickly ,not him too. She had already lost her closest friends, "its going to be ok, I'll get you out of here. I'll carry you-"

"Now don't go do a stupid thing like and get yourself killed kid. Go on and get out of here."

"No! I can't! you have a family that loves you…you have to live…."tears ran don her cut and bruised face, "You're the only Captain I respect, you're the only one who cared…."

The Captain laughed weakly as he looked towards ceiling kid, "Ah kid I ain't no saint….I just….I want you to be a better Marine….a better Marine then us all."

"Why though? Why-"

The Captain sighed, then asked, "Hey,…pull my hat off. Quickly."

Claire blinked confused, then ,looking around to make sure no one was attacking. Then grabbed the hat, pausing , in the 6 months she had known the captain he had never once taken off the hat. Her hand gently pulled it off, her hand drew back quickly as a pair of ed furry ears was revealed. Shock moved through her ,looking back at the Captains face she asked weakly, "You have,,….Genetic Disruption?"

"Yup….back in my day, you couldn't be a Marine if you were diseased so I fooled them for 30 years. "he gave a horse laugh, his lips turning red as he began to fade, "But when they get my body, they're going to see the truth…..my family won't get a dime of support from those G.U.N sponsored insurance…." he gave Claire, "Go…become a Marine worthy if us…Semper Fi,…Claire Vancouver…" the light suddenly faded from his eyes as he left this world. Claire, in despair doubled forward sobbing uncontrollably, everyone she cared about….gone…her eyes fell of the Captains Fox ears again, her stomach becoming twisted as she knew what she had to do to ensure his family would get support. She drew out her knife.-

Claire slammed back against the wall in despair, memories overwhelming her as she shook uncontrollably, Shadow quickly ran forward, "Claire-"

The wolf eared girl looked up from her hands for a moment, the grief and tears were true on her face as she whispered, "I'=I'm so sorry." exhaustion and agony consumed her as Claire fell forward, Shadow quickly knelt down and caught her in his arms, holding her tightly, what had happened? Did she remember now? Her hand, having gripped his shoulder when she fell, twitched slightly. He heard footsteps behind him, turning he saw Spectre walking towards him, Shadow growled angrily and held Claire tighter, "Don't you dare try to touch her-"

"Don't be stupid boy, come with me to the operating room, Claire needs surgery immediately or she'll loose the use of her right arm."

Shadow looked down on Claire again and noticed the red stain (from when Spectre had shot her) had spread widely over her gown. Quickly he scooped her into his arms and turned to Spectre, "Show me the way." he demanded

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A few hours later

Sonic walked with Locke as they made their way through Haven, the others having been treated a long time ago (Sari now taking a small nap in Spectre's room)Sonic turned ot Locke, "So Claire's going to be ok, right?"

"Physically yes, it'll take much rest, but she should be able to return to combat."

"And her memories?"

"When she woke up, she seemed to remember everything. It was probably Temporary Amnesia brought on by her PSTD."

Sonic looked at him, "Then why do you look so pessimistic."

"Because not everything can be cured by surgery or luck the poor girls been through a lot today. I can't say her hearts going to heal from all the trauma."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No. But…."he opened the door to the room Claire was resting in, "Its all up to him now."

Sonic peered in, Claire was sleeping on a hospital bed. The color having returned to her face and she looked healthy. By the bed sat Shadow , his hand gripping her bandaged one gently, his face full of concern a he watched her sleep. He turned and saw the 2 standing there, standing up he looked at Sonic fully, "Can you sit with her for a while?"

"Yeah, wha are you going ot do? Taking a leak-"

"No. It wont take long. " Shadow left the room before disappearing with Chaos Control

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General Spruce limped towards his office muttering curses under his breath. Today had been a outrage! G.U.N embarrassed and caught off guard, half of the units being either in the hospital, others were dead. He spat, in his day, agents were tougher, not weak children. The thought of children made him think back to that wretched child Claire, most of the damage had been caused by her, her grenades and reckless behavior. While the other Commanders thought her actions had saved them all, and prevented the escape of Sinister, he still spat angrily, "that freak ruined my agency…." he stormed into his dark office, "I'll have her head for this-"

"OH really?'" came a voice

Spruce spun around and saw Shadow standing right by the door, he pressed his hand against it and slammed it hard, "Its about time we had a little chat, General."

Spruce, panicked, ran and grabbed his phone. Shadows hand shot out and crushed the phone before grabbing him by the front an slamming the old man against the wall, "I know what you did. You took Claire away from Tower, forced her through hell. The whole thing was thought up by you."

Spruce growled, then spat, "Whose going to believe you? A chaotic hedgehog and wolf eared freak both suffering from PSTD in the past? You'll be laughed out of every humane office in the district."

Shadow growled, dropping him, his face turning into a dark smirk,( a smirk that made him very nervous). He walked over to the table, pointing ot a piece of paper, "This is a document stating your resignation from G.U.N and a document announing everything you have done, to Claire, Tower and the rest of the G.U.N. Sign the confession too, now either you take this and live the rest of your life retired or." he drew a gun from its sheath and took aim, "I don't think you want to find out what my original idea was, do you General?"

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Shadow walked back into the Claire's hospital room, Sonic turning to face him, a sleeping Sari in his arms, "what took you so long Shads?"

"I had something important to do…" he gently took the sleeping child away and rested her against his shoulder, her face in his chest as she snored lightly, "thanks for the help, you can go now."

Sonic shrugged and did as he was told. Shadow waited till he left before sitting back down, his free hand taking Claries again. His eyes fell on Sari for a moment, the most precious thing in his life, then over at Claire, remembering his promise to Tower. Even though he knew Claire would never need, or ask, from him; he would be there for where when ever she asked of him. He held Sari a bit tighter and squeezed Claire's a hand a bit more comfortingly, "I'll protect you both…" he whispered


	17. Healing

1 week later

Sonic yawned widely, happy to be home, even if his children weren't here (they were spending a few months with their Uncle Elias along with the other Freedom Fighter children). But it was nice that the house was quiet, all he had to do was lie around and clean. He was grateful towards Sally, she gave up a life of luxury (a life, she admitted, she never belonged to anyway) for him. And now they had wonderful kids. (Kids Shadow probably never knew about). Now that Sonic thought about it. Shadow was pretty oblivious to a lot of stuff. He'd bet a thousand dollars Shadow didn't know that half the Freedom Fighters had kids. That was funny to him.

Speaking of humorous. The image of Shadow leaning over Claire; THAT was funny. The image was so humorous that It made him smile. Shadow may be the Ultimate Life form but he was ultimately a emotion-confused fool.

But he did have his priorities in order, he knew Sari was the number one thing in Shadows life. And, even if he teased Shadow, he knew Shadow would never have feelings like THAT, urges maybe, but nothing too strong.

He heard the front door open and stood up to walk out to great his beautiful wife, who was currently carrying bags of groceries, "hey Sal." he gave her a peck on cheek before taking the bags grinning, "You should of let me go with you, you didn't need to carry all those things from the market. Probably would have been faster too."

The princess chipmunk grinned, "Well some of us like to take it slow every once in a while." she shoved him playfully. Sonic grinned back and walked into the kitchen, start ingot put groceries away. This was the life.

From the living room, Sally called, "Guess who I saw in the Market?"

"Santa Clause?"

"Nope, Claire and Shadow."

"Huh?" he paused for a moment, then went back to groceries," HE normally doesn't go with her does he? "

"No not really. But they seemed to be happy."

Shadow? Happy? Those are two words that should never go together, but he just shrugged it off, "did you talk to them?"

"Nah, they didn't seem like they wanted to be disturbed, but I wish I knew what Shadow was laughing about-"

Shock shot right through Sonic, the eggs he had been carrying crashing on the floor as he ran into the living room, peering around the door to Sally (who had her Nicole PDA out), "Did you say _laugh_?"

"Yes, **Laugh**."

"You mean maniacally, right?"

"No, just laughing."

"Did someone just get hurt? Maybe he punched someone in the face!"

"No, not that I saw."

"Did someone trip?"

"NO."

"Someone was choking!"

"_No_."

"Maybe….maybe Claire had shot someone? She does get trigger happy-"

"NO. There was no VIOLENCE, no MURDER no BLOOD no DEATH he was just LAUGHING now DROP IT. "Sally, apparently annoyed, stood up and waked out of the room, as though she didn't know didn't know what had gotten into him. But Sonic kept standing there, the phrase kept rolling through his head, "_Shadow was laughing…laughing…laughing_…"

What the hell was going on here?

Shadow was holding Sari as they sat in a chair, Sari was holding; The Hobbit was laid out in her lap. Reading it out loud in a stuttering sweet voice, but Shadow was only vaguely listening. His mind was on Claire, he had to leave early from grocery shopping because Espio had a sudden mission and Sari hat to come home early. At the last Doctor appointment, Spectre had said it was important, now, that Claire move around and get fresh air. So when the opportunity came to get out for groceries, Claire had already started her way out the door (not two seconds after Shadow made the comment" It looks like we need milk"). Though Claire was almost back to normal health, she was still discouraged from doing anything that was too strenuous. All of these factors made Shadow glance at window, his eyes fixed on the sky, the clouds were few so he didn't feel as nervous, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of his head that almost completely obscured Sari as she read the Hobbit out loud.

""Of course there is a mark," said Gandalf. "I put it there myself. For very good rea-rea." She paused for a moment, struggling with the word

"Reasons. " Shadow corrected. A knocking sound came from the front door, which made him growl slightly (not wanting to deal with people). He decided to ignore it, hoping it went away.

"Thanks Daddy, "then she continued, "'you asked me to find the fourteenth man for your expe-expe-" but the interruption of frantic knocking again.

Shadow gave a quick look over her shoulder at the book, the knocking even louder, "Expedition." Sighing in detest, he stood up (setting Sari down) and walked towards the door, "who the hell-"he pressed his hand against it, opening it slowly.

Sonic burst in, a child in each arm, "Hey look Kids! It's Uncle Shadow!" he looked back at the shocked hedgehog, "You don't mind do you? Our kids haven't' met before I figured it's about time!"

"Kids-when did you have kids?"

"I sent you the birthday party invitations, birth announcements, didn't you ever get them?" Sonic set them down and looked at Shadow a bit shocked

"I tend to burn any mail you've sent me." Shadow watched Sonics kids as they approached Sari, talking. They seemed friendly enough. They appeared to be around Sari's age, indicating they were twin (Fraternal seeing as one was a boy and the other was a girl). The girl seemed to resemble Sally, same species and appearance, but she wore a tiny white blouse and Capri's (in huge contrast to Saris blue shirt and overalls). The boy, unfortunately, had a extremely similar appearance to his father, wearing a green shirt and short tan pants, the only physical difference was that the boys two front teeth were slightly more gapped then Sonics.

Sonic grinned, "Shadow, this is my kids, Sonia and Manic. Kids this is your Uncle Shadow!"

IN unison the twins turned to look at Shadow, probably expecting a warm smile. But their faces fell as the sight of the dark, tall, and clothed hedgehog who seemed to look at them with the same "WTF' face. But they once again turned their attention to Sari, making immediate friendships.

Shadow growled again, there wasn't any time (or patience) to deal with Sonic. But the blue hero had already walked into the kitchen, 'You like coffee right Shadow? I'll make us some."

"Hedgehog you have to go-"

"Nah."

Shadow walked in there, but Sonic already had two cups out on the table, smiling eagerly. Immediately Shadow grew suspicious of his real intentions,

"Come on man, I just want our kids to be friends, we can talk while they do!"

"Why?"

"Because," Sonics face clouded over slightly, "After what happened at the hospital everyone was really worried about you guys. Especially when you guys never updated us. Is Claire ok?"

Shadow paused, these intentions didn't seem so bad at all, he glanced out the window for a moment before sitting down, "Claire is fine, she's healing quickly."

"But…"

"Its just been a long healing process…"

_(1 week ago)_

_In order to ensure there were no mistakes during the surgery, or any mistakes (even though Spectre scoffed "I don't make mistakes") Locke insisted she at least stay overnight. During which Shadow and Sari went home, because of the entire excitement Sari fell asleep easy (anything to avoid a microwavable meal). Shadow stayed up though, _

_Shadow walked down the hallway of Haven, his hand gripped Sari's gently. In Sari's other hand held a small bag, small flowers sticking out. It had been a day since the surgery and In order to ensure there were no mistakes during the surgery, or any mistakes (even though Spectre insisted "I don't make mistakes") Locke insisted she at least stay overnight. During which Shadow and Sari went home, because of the entire excitement Sari fell asleep easy (anything to avoid a microwavable meal). Shadow had stayed up though, full of nervousness. And now he was quickly giving his child 'do's and don'ts around Claire for her recovery._

_"Claire's not going to be carrying you as much as she used to, so don't ask."_

_"Ok Daddy."_

_"Don't pull on her right arm either, its going to be weak and hurt."_

_"Ok Daddy."_

_"And she's going to be tired so she's not going to be playing with you as much, understand?"_

_"Ok Daddy." _

_But this didn't make Shadow feel better. And, because of yesterday's events, he was slightly nervous about seeing Claire. After her surgery she had seemed to regain all of her memories, but Locke warned him that it might happen again. He was also worried how yesterdays events might change her. So when they walked up to Claire's room and took a deep breath. He knocked on the door lightly before opening it slowly, "Claire?"_

_Claire was at the window, using the top frame to pull herself up like pull ups. She glanced over at them, "Hey guys you're late." she smiled happily dropping down._

_Before Shadow could say anything Sari ran forward," Mommy!"_

_Claire immediately reached down with her bandaged arm and lifted Sari up, holding up with a smile on her face, 'HI Sari, did you have fun with Shadow?"_

_"Not really, he tried to cook in the microwave again."_

_"Oh, I'm guessing it didn't end up very well?"_

_"Daddy ended up feeding it the red turd."_

_"Where it rightfully belongs." She noticed the bag, "What's in there Angel?"_

_Sari's face broke out into a child-like excitement as she opened the bag, "It's a get well bag, there's candy, fruits, cards that me and Mighty made-"_

_"Claire."_

_Claire turned around (Sari still rambling about the numerous items) to look at Shadow, unfazed by his death glare, "Yes?"_

_"You're not supposed to be lifting things."_

_"Oh yes, Sari's 10 pounds is going to rip my collarbone in half."_

_Shadow growled heavily, reaching he lifted Sari out of Claire's arms and set her on her feet before crossing his arms, his eyebrows raised. But Claire rolled her eyes with a smile. The doors behind them opened and Locke walked in, "Don't worry, she wouldn't listen to me or Grandfather Spectre. That's why I'm giving her medications to you. Make sure she takes them." He held out a small plastic lunchbox bag to Shadow. The dark hedgehog paused and took it; he opened the bag curiously to find many orange prescription bottles. Reaching in he took one out, even more surprised to find the pill the size of fingernails, "Does she need so much? Seriously it's like you're trying to kill her-"_

_"It's to help fight infection."_

_"Infection?" Shadow glanced over at Claire, she looked fine._

_"She has a small one, normally we'd make her stay. But she should be fine if she takes her medicine. Any sign of a fever and you should bring her back. Immediately."_

_Claire smirked but then suddenly felt very nervous as the needles incident came back to her. Slowly she glanced over at Shadow, hoping to see him shrug. But, as expected he had a glare on her that said ,'You are going to have hell on you'_

_Slowly Claire used her good arm to lift Sari up by the back of the overalls, (the little girl giggling wildly) and held her at eyelevel to avert the glare of Shadow._

_This was going to be a long recovery."_

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Present

Shadow shrugged, sitting down, "It was ok I guess, picked up Claire, got the medicine and went home."

"Sounds exciting," he took a sip of his Blue-Bull. The sound of children laughing made him tilt his chair on the back rungs. Looking in the direction of the living room he smiled, "Sounds like they get along better then we do."

While Sonics words made Shadow roll his eyes, the sound of Sari's laughter made him smile softly. But when Sonic turned back around Shadows smile disappeared as he went back to his slightly bitter coffee.

"So things have been easy? I thought Claire hated medicine and doctors."

"It's been….a little turbulent."

_3 days ago_

_Shadow pinned Claire against the wall with a crash his arm pressed against her neck and fist up, a pill clenched under his fingers, "Dam it Claire! You need to take your medicine!"_

_"Locke said I didn't have to if I felt fine!" She demanded._

_"You're such a liar! You haven't eaten all day! Take the medicine right now!"_

_Claire growled at Shadow slighting. The two glared at each other bitterly till Claire sighed and held out her hand. Grunting happily Shadow placed the pill on her hand. She popped it into her mouth. Swallowed then opened her mouth to show (mockingly),"Happy?"_

_Shadow nodded approvingly, "Thank you." He put his arm down and called, "Its done Sari you can uncover your ears." Then turned to look back at Claire, "Now go sit-" but then he saw she was gone, "Huh?" he saw her disappear into the kitchen, growling he ran in after her, "Dam it-"_

_"What now?" Claire was at the stove, stirring a bowl that was warming up. A pleasant smell wafting from it. She looked at Shadow tiredly, "Yeah?"_

_"You shouldn't be standing."_

_"Oh Shadow, are you sure you want to cook? I don't want you to accidentally poison us-"_

_"I'm serious Claire; you're still fighting a infection."_

_Claire turned and smiled at him softly walking over and put a hand on his shoulder (which made his ear perk slightly), "Shadow, I feel fine. And I promise, the instant I feel bad, I will let you do all the "pill shoving down my throat" whenever you want ok"_

_Shadow smiled weakly he reached forward to touch her shoulder but a irritating knocking sound filled the house which made him cringe angrily and glaring at the door, "Who the hell-" he watched Claire walk to the door then look back at him nervously which made him growl, "Is it Rufus?"_

_"Hee hee."_

_"(Sigh)"_

_"Don't worry. He'll only be here for a little bit." Claire gave him a faint smile then walked outside. But Shadow was anything but convinced. Ever since Claire had gotten back, there hadn't been a day where he hadn't stopped by. And frankly it made a odd feeling well up in his chest, a feeling he chose to call Irritated. _

_Whenever Rufus stopped by, he'd stand outside with Claire for hours on end, sometimes well into the night, and then Claire would come back in all flustered. But Shadow had declared it as none of his business and wouldn't ask about it (even though it was literally killing him). So he went to spend sometime with his daughter, just to occupy his time._

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Present

But Shadow answered with a dignified, "Rufus stopped by a few times."

"The emotion dead leatherneck?"

"Yes."

"Didn't that upset you?"

"NO." he said a bit loud and forceful, before coughing and getting a sip of coffee. There was a loud thump in the living room (followed by smaller thumps). Shadow leapt to his feet and ran into the living room, Sonic on his heels. They entered the room to see Sari and Manic on the ground sitting up, rubbing their heads sorely, Sonia stood just behind Sari, a confused look on her face. Shadow quickly picked up Sari and walked out of the room (he could see Sonic tending to Manic out of the corner of his eye). He sat Sari down on the counter and started going over her head carefully, "Are you ok? What happened?"

"I'm fine Daddy." Her face unfazed, "We were playing ring around the rosy and we collided. I'm sorry."

He wasn't sure if he approved of Sari playing a game that was a reference to the Black Plague but when he saw the look of happiness on Saris face he knew she was fine.

"Daddy can I play in my room with my friends? Please?"

"Yes. Just don't go too far." He gently kissed her on the forehead before setting her on her feet. The tiny girl smiled happily, hugging his knees then running back to the living room. Sonic, who had been walking back into the kitchen, quickly stepped to the side to keep from colliding inot her, he watched her go with a faint chuckle before turning back to the scowling Shaodw, "Oh lighten up, kids will be kids." when Shadow didn't respond he simply sat back down, picking up his Blue-Bull, "You said Ruus came to visit right? How did that go?"

Shaodw sighed lightly sitting back down, "It could of gone better

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_Back in the past_

_Shadow sat in his comfortable chair, reading a large book he had found a while back. He tried to keep his mind fixed fully on the book but his mind kept drifting back to Claire and Rufus, what were they talking about so much? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sari walk up to him, hands on his knees with a worried look on her face, "Daddy?"_

_What better way to distract himself, he carefully lifted the tiny girl into his arms. A slight smile on his face, 'what's' wrong Angel?"_

_"Why is Rufus here again?"_

_"I don't know." Even Sari noticed? That was bad, "I guess he just wants to ...be with Claire…." The words felt like poison on his lips. But he did his best to ignore it._

_"OH….Daddy/ is mommy sad?"_

_Great, another question he had been asking himself. He had thought that Claire's lack of appetite and sleep deprivation was caused by something else (diarrhea maybe). But the thought in the back of his head always was that maybe she was sad…but he put on a comforting smile and stroked Saris' hair," Your Claire will be fine, "_

_"Daddy?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"You know how when I'm sick and sad you give me hugs and kisses?"_

_Something he'd never admit to anyone besides Claire, "Yes?"_

_"Well, maybe if you give Claire LOTS pf hugs and kisses she'll be happy!"_

_Shadow choked on air, leaning over the side of the chair ( away from Sari) coughing uncontrollably. After a few more seconds he whipped back around, trying to keep his face calm, "Sari-"_

_But the tiny girl was unfazed, "Daddy if you don't give Mommy lots of hugs and kisses to make her feel better then can someone else try?"_

_That was even worse! Where was she getting these ideas? Shadow quickly picked up Sari by the back of the overalls so they could see eye to eye (noted she was unfazed by his bloodshot ones) "Sari…..hugs and kisses don't' help….everyone…"_

_"are you sure? Maybe your hugs and kisses don't work, do Rufus's work?"_

_This question made Shadow stop in his explanation. Was it possible? He sure hadn't done anything to help Claire emotionally ( he knew that now). So had Rufus stepped up to the plate to fill the empty needs the Shadow himself had failed to do for Claire? This thought sent horror down Shadows spine (and small feeling of jealousy). He set Sari on her feet, "Stay here." standing up he walked quickly to the front room, the brown front door with a large window on either side. Both windows were covered by dark green blinds (For no particular reason except privacy). He knelt down by the window slowly, he could already hear the voices of Claire and Rufus outside. They didn't sound happy._

_"Why are you being so stubborn about this?" That was Rufus (with more emotion in his voice then Shadow had ever heard before)and Somehow Shadow could already relate._

_"Because you're not listening, I'm not leaving here, I love living here with Sari and Shadow." that was definitely Claire, her voice was exasperated and tired. What were they talking about? Did Rufus want her to leave them?_

_"But you don't belong here, they have almost killed you dozens of times. You need to be around people who actually care and want to help you."_

_"I already told you, I'm not leaving, and I don't' want anything to do with them. And if you keep this up, I don't want anything to do with you either.' There was a pause which gave Shadow time to think_

_What was going on here? Rufus was threatening Claire? That's not something you do to comfort someone (Shadow learned that a while ago). But it sounded like Rufus wanted Claire to move in whit him, (had their relationship become more serious then he thoughts?). But thankfully it appeared that Claire was against the idea. He sighed with relief when heard a scraping of rock (indicating that Claire had turned to walk into the house.) Shadow got ready to move when suddenly Claire cried out in shock. HE quickly moved to the window again. Rufus had grabbed Claries arm, his face holding slight anger to it and Claire's' frustrated as she tried to pull away. Rage shot through Shadow as he leapt through the window. Before they could react, Shadow grabbed Claire around the waist while slamming his shoulder into Rufus shoulder. THE tall Agent went flying into the dirt road, dust rising up. Shadow could barely contain the anger in his voice when he glared down on Rufus, "Don't you EVER grab Claire again!" he looked back at Claire who (in Shadows act of protectiveness) had held her WAY to close for ANYONES comfort who are emotionally confused friends), "Did he hurt you!"_

_"NO, Shadow-"_

_"Why didn't you tell me Rufus was sexually harassing you?"_

_"Sexually harassing? Shadow-"_

_"AND YOU!' he released Claire and stepped in front of her (between her and the still lying Rufus) his back to her as he continued to glare hard at the man, "What the hell is wrong with you! You're a old man harassing a young woman!'_

_"Shadow-"_

_"you should be ashamed! I am now convinced there's no love here! No wonder Claries so awkward around you, don't you EVER toy with her-"_

_"SHADOW RUFUS IS MY UNCLE YOU BUTT-HOLE!"_

_There was a awkward pause. Shadow looked from Claire, who looked complete exasperated, to Rufus, who was getting up out of the dirt when another thought hit him that made him even angrier, "You sick-"_

_"Shadow he is NOT trying to be my boyfriend so get that thought out of your head right now."_

_"But how did he find out you were Towers daughter?" he tried to hide the confusion in his voice but none of this made sense to him_

_"He saw me without my sunglasses after being rescued, that's' all! I asked (begged) him not to tell anyone!""_

_"Then why is he trying to get you to move in?" he demanded , still confused and not sure if any of this was real life,_

_The response came from behind him, in the form of Rufus's voice "Because you've almost killed her a thousand times over!"_

_Turning, he saw that Rufus had gotten up, his face especially peeved as he tried to dust himself off, but Shadow was still mad, "What are you talking about?"_

_"Claire was safe, until you met her! Now she's being sent to the hospital, she's been shot-"_

_Shadow growled heavily to interrupt him, looking at Claire out of the corner of his eyes, "Go inside, I'll take care of him." he could tell this was going to be a problem and he didn't need her getting stressed_

_"Shadow don't be stupid, I can handle this myself-"_

_"You'll only get in ,my way, go inside now."_

_Claire growled back at him, out of the corner of his eye, he could see her face was red faced with shame. Suddenly pain filed his shoulder, making him stumble back in pain, he squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. When he opened them, he had a glance of Claire storming inside the house, and Rufus standing there with a satisfied smirk on his face. Shadow spat angrily (Mostly from being punched by his best friend), "WHAT ARE you smiling at?"_

_"Nothing." his face turned serious, "I'm Claire's Uncle, I think its time she stopped playing games here with you and started living with her real family-"_

_"Her REAL family!" Shadow gave a harsh laugh, "You've known she was you niece for 3 years, and you've done nothing to help her.'_

_"I couldn't, I was forbidden form doing so from my brother Tower."_

_"he knew?" this was new to him, it sent anger through him, "He knew Claire was his lost child and he didn't' do anything about it?_

_"We were forbidden! All I'm trying to bring her home-"_

_"She is home-"_

_"A home isn't a place where you're life's in danger everyday, YOU aren't part of her family."_

_Shadow's fist shot out and grabbed Rufus by the front, his face twisted in anger, about to say a few words to him that would make the readers of this story cry. But suddenly the front door opened, turning he saw Sari standing in the doorway. At first Shadow was going to tell her to run back inside but when he saw the terrified nature of her face, he shoved Rufus away and turned his attention to her, "Sari, What's-'_

_"Mommy fell down, and I can't get her to wake up!"_

_Cold horror shot through Shadow, he ran past Sari (Rufus hot on his heels) and ran into the kitchen. He saw Claire laying on the floor of the kitchen, her unmoving body making him even more horrified. Shadow knelt down and gently pulled her into her arms. He could already see her eyes fluttering as she tried to wake up. Shadow carefully \ pressed his hand against her forehead, the heat making him even more worrisome, he looked up at Rufus. Whose face demanded a explanation, "Claire got a infection, I thought we were fighting it. I need to get her back to Haven-"_

_Claire stirred, looking up at him, her eyes were pained but firm, "I'm fine I'm just dizzy…I'll be fine"_

_"You're so full of it!" Shadow stood, Claire in his arms (cussing at him). He looked at Sari "Is there anyway you can get to Espio's-"_

_Surprising the little girl shook her head angrily, "No Daddy! I'm going with you! I want to help mommy!"_

_Shadow growled slightly, not having time to argue, he knelt down, "Wrap your arms around my neck."_

_Sari, climbed into the crook in Shadows arms between Claire and Shadows chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. Shadow stood up slowly ,carefully, then ran out the door as fast as he could._

_88888888888888888888888_

_Shadow sat on a chair outside a hospital room, Sari sat in his arms. She just resting her head against his chest, listening to his heart beat (He prayed that she wouldn't be able to tell how rapid it was beating). He couldn't blame the small girl for wanting to come, and commended her on her bravery. He gently kept stroking her hair his arm wrapped around her, his mind occupied._

_When they had arrived at the hospital Spectre had taken Claire from him and ran down the hall (Rufus had called ahead of time). That was a while ago and he was left here with his daughter. Only being able to comfort her with his rapid pulse. The door finally opened; Spectre stepped out of the hospital room, he indicated with his head for Shadow to follow him. He nodded and stood up, setting Sari on the seat and kneeling in front of her, "Angel don't move from here unless Lock or Spectre is with you ok?"_

_The tiny girl nodded, giving him a kiss on the forehead. Shadow returned he affection before getting up and walking over to Spectre. Before he had a small hope that maybe Claries had just been tired, But the grim nature of Spectre's face told him different. He whispered, as to no alert Sari,' HOW bad is it?" _

_"The infection has gone beyond her wound….its spread to her spine and is dangerously close to her nerves, if we don't' do something now then she'll loose the ability to walk, and the use her right arm…"_

_Shadow nodded, his throat tightening, 'in other words her career as a Agent is in danger.' "What can we do?"_

_"we're running some tests, but we don't' have anything certain, I suggest just going in there and being with her,, ok? We'll take Sari to a room where she can draw."_

_Shadow nodded again, he headed into the hospital room, flashing Sari a quick smile (but it was pretty much just a lip twitch) in the room he noticed it was empty except for a chair, piled with Claries clothes (she was probably wearing the hospital gown again). He saw light that shown under the bathroom door and walked over to it, "Claire?"_

_"yeah?" she sounded ok_

_"What are you doing?"_

_"I'm just washing off, sorry about punching you earlier, you ok?"_

_Why was she asking HIM that? Even though his shoulder did indeed hurt it was the last thing on his mind (even behind Sonic!), "Its fine, you should be laying down."_

_"I'm fine like I said, don't worry.'_

_"Don't' worry!" this slightly ticked him, "you're in a hospital Claire! You might loose mobility and you're telling me not to-"_

_Suddenly there was the rush of running water of a shower and a scream ,followed by a loud thump. Shadow ran over to the door, almost opening the door but he stopped. He didn't know if Claire was even dressed!, he knocked on the door frantically, "Claire! Claire are you ok?"_

_There was s a pause then a moan, 'Yeah…I fell in the tub…"_

_"Can you get up?"_

_There was another pause, "I landed on my good arm and I can't roll, I'm trying-"_

_"are you bleeding?"_

_There was no response, so he tried again_

_"has the wound reopened?""_

_"Only a little bit, its nothing bad-"_

_"nothing bad?" Shadow quickly grabbed the door handle, "Look, I'm coming in.'_

_"Like hell you are!"_

_"Claire you can't get up, I promise not to look-"_

_"this coming from the guy who I find leaning over me in my sleep!"_

_"That was two times!"_

_"Two! When was the other time?"_

_"Never mind." he ran to the drawers, reaching in his fingers brushed against a pair of goggles. Sighing with relief he pulled them out then grabbed a towel by it. He stuffed the goggles with the cloth and put it over his eyes, satisfied at the obscurity, he put it back up and ran over to the door, "Claire, I'm coming in, I have a blindfold, I'm going to drop a towel drop it on you. You wrap it around yourself the best you can and I'll pull you up ok?"_

_Finding no retaliation he pulled the blind fold down, he opened ht door,. Immediately the heat form the hot water hit him. He felt his way along the wall, his fingers finding a rough towel. Happy he pulled I down and walked forward, hands out till his hands felt the fiberglass of a shower door, he slowly slid it open, he felt the wall and clumsily turned the nozzle off. He dropped the towel," OK tell me when you're ready.'_

_He heard a small scuffle (Claire cursing) then finally she said, "ready!" he reached down, touching the tub bottom. Her good hand grabbed his and he pulled her up, wrapping a arm around her waist he lead her out of the room slowly, relief coming over him, things were ok._

_He raised his hand to put it around her shoulders (finding the waist to be a bit awkward) when his hand brushed against something cloth,, he paused, feeling it again when it hit him, "You're' dressed?" he pulled away, fumbling with the goggles angrily, "DAMM IT Claire you are dressed! Why did you make getting you such a big deal! Does everything have to be difficult with you? First you fight from taking the medicine, then you hide the fact that Rufus is harassing you, THEN you fight me on coming to the hospital only to find out your going to be paralyzed,, and THEN last but NOT least, you complain about me seeing you in the shower but you're completely dressed!" he finally pulled the goggles off and spun round, "I mean what the hell is that-" he paused. _

_Claire stood, dripping wet from falling in the shower, a towel hastily wrapped around her over her hospital gown, her face red (probably from trying to keep from screaming in pain after falling in the shower) her neck was __covered in some kind of marking like a disease and rough in appearance. It snaked over her neck like a root from a plant, it reached up just to her chin and seemed to be under her skin._

_. Claire, quickly turned away and that's when Shadow notice he had ad been staring. He ran over grabbing her shoulder, "Claire wait, what….what. Is it?" not needing to indicate or point it out._

_There was a pause, then she spoke, her voice thick, "it's a side affect of Nor's experiments…it shows up every time I get my skin wet…."_

_"But we were at the beach,="_

_"I have a cream that keeps it from showing, if I use it ahead of time…."_

_Shadow paused, his mouth dry, that was why she hadn't wanted him to see her…looking back on his words he cursed himself slightly, "I'm sorry…but why didn't you tell me? All of this could have been avoided, if you had just told me these things Claire…..so why?'"_

_Claries' shoulders stared to shake slightly, trying to hide the emotion in her voice, "You have any idea how hard it is, to be alone for 3 years, socially isolated and shunned. But to have to just suddenly start telling people about my problems? Its not easy…its not easy to be vulnerable with others…" Claire sat down on the hospital bed, Shadow could barely see her face but he already knew the pain that was probably on it. The sadness. Her voice, usually so proud and happy, came up to his ears with the delicacy and sadness , "What the hell am I supposed to say, Shadow? You know me better then anyone, I try not to rely on anyone…"_

_The thought made Shadows heart sink, "But we trust each other."_

_"I do trust you Shadow, more then I've trusted anyone in my life….that's…" her voice broke slightly, "that's why this is so hard for me…"_

_Shadow paused then pulled up a chair to sit infront of her. He pause again before using both his hands to take hers, gently rubbing her palms with his thumbs, but he kept his gaze down on her hands,' DO you remember that first night we met?" he asked softly, "you were so broken….and sad…..I was there though...I let you lean against my shoulder with your tears...I didn't judge you….I didn't say anything….it can still be there …I want to be…."_

_Claries shoulders shook gently, "I…I'm so scared Shadow…I'm afraid I wont get better…I'm afraid that I'm going to become useless…..I'm afraid I'm going to let everyone down…."_

_"You wont….you're strong Claire….you'll be fine…." He gently leaned forward, pressing his forehead against hers gently, he felt her distribute her weight against his so they sat there, leaning against each other. Shadow could almost feel the pounding of Claries heart through her palms, it was fast and matched her breathing. She was truly scared, of something she couldn't fight…..Shadow couldn't' blame her…._

_The door opened suddenly and Shadow stood up, pulling Claire with him, Spectre walked in. their faces once again became stone, but the worry in their eyes was unavoidable. Shadow felt Claire squeeze his hand gently, her voice firm," well?"_

_"The infection hasn't spread as bad as we thought, the surgery is unrequited…we're going to up your dosage but we're going to see you back here sooner then we thought to make sure its going ok, understood?"_

_Shadow nodded (for some reason)_

_"now, you may go." Spectre turned and left_

_Shadow sighed slightly, closing his eyes with relief, "Lets get back to Sari-" eh started to walk forward but Claire stayed in her spot. Her hand squeezed his intently shaking slightly. Tears were running down her face, not of sadness, but the immense feeling of relief had taken over her. She was unable to speak, but stand there crying softly. Shadow paused then walked forward, wrapping arm around her gently and hugged her to him. He felt her relax against him, and hug him back with her good arm. It wasn't really a romantic moment, but it was a strong moment. A silent promise that indicated there would be no more fear they would hide from each other…._

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Shadow yawned and leaned back in his chair, sighing annoyed , "I really don't know what you expect me to say Faker, everything went fine. Claries' healing up and everyone lived happily ever after. Happy?"

"Jeez Shadow, for such a long pause you had such a short answer." Sonic shrugged looking out the window, "so where is Claire?"

"She's out at the store buying groceries."

"IN this weather? How chivalrous-"

This confused Shadow, 'This-" he looked out the window, rain was falling down gently, a normal rain. This amused Shadow for a moment then he felt slightly horrified. He stood up "Stay here and watch the kids.'

"Sure but what are you-"

Shadow grabbed a hoody and a umbrella before running out the door.

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Claire stood under a abandoned bus stop spot. The roof covering her from the rain and making her feel safe, the water didn't hurt, but she couldn't' stand the thought of walking back looking like a diseased freak. She couldn't help it. She sighed heavily and moved the groceries to her other waist. It was a good thing she had not' brought the motorcycle, but she wished she had a car, even if it was just for this moment. Claire sat back down, she didn't know how long this rain would last but it was certainly long enough to be aggravating, "come on-"

In the distance she saw a dark figure running through the rain in her direction, this made her confused, who would be running out here in this weather. The figure became closer and closer till Claire was forced to step out of the way to keep it form running into her as it rushed in. Claire covered her face to stop the rain for a moment before uncovering her face. Surprised to see Shadow there, his breath steamy in the cold weather vs. his hot wind, a slightly wet hoody in one hand and a umbrella in the other, "About dam time I found you."

"Shadow, what-"

Shadow passed over the hoody, "Put this on."

Claire paused then did as she was told, pulling it on over her tank top , the hood sticking to her hair. Shadow took some of the grocery bags and shifted them to one arm, his other arm reaching around Claire to hold her around the shoulders, the umbrella opened. Once again Claire was confused, "Shadow, what-"  
"What? I knew you wouldn't walk in the rain so I wanted to get you back home…"Shadows face flushed slightly before looking out in the rain aggravated, "Just cause Sonic arrived and has been annoying the hell out of me, and everyone's getting hungry."

Claire paused, then slowly the realization came over her with a smile, she rested her head against Shadows for a moment in a joking manner, "Oh you big softy., lets head back."

"yeah yeah yeah…" with that the two started off, protected by the umbrella….

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Dr. Eggman, "HOLD ON ONE MINUTE! THIS IS BULLET! I'VE BAERLY HAD ONE LINE IN THIS ENTIRE STORY! THAT'S IT NEXT CHATPER MY EVIL COMES OUT! MUWUAUAUUAHAHAHAHAHAH"

Review! And enjoy


	18. Its who I am I've got the Master Plan

Eggman stormed angrily down the hallway. His large boots thumping loudly through the hallway but he barely noticed. Being a bit of a stereotype, he walked with his hands behind his back and leaning forward (making him look like a penguin). At first he had thought teaming up with such masterminds such as Dr. Fintivous, Mephiles, and that hiring the Tracker had been a good idea. They all had their intelligence (not as smart as himself mind you) but now it seemed like they had no intention of following him! I mean he really didn't care when the Tracker was pulled out of outer space, and it only irked him a little bit when Mephiles was drowning in the ocean (with no memory on what had happened to him). But now Fintivous? yeah sure the others may be too stupid by the had been sure that Dr. Fintivous would have been able recognize and bath in his glorious intellect. But NO! He goes off and constructs plans to trick the other two, AND e almost got Eggman killed by that horrid wolf eared girl! How repulsive. He walked up to a heavily monitored door, allowed it to take his prints, before walking in. The door slamming quickly behind him, this though, was Eggmans GREATEST masterpiece. The walls were covered in electrical wiring, drawing in power from where ever it could, the long wires twisting on the floor and converging on a capsule on the floor. While you couldn't see what was inside it, a faint pulse of gold assured pulse. Indicating the being in there was truly alive. This was the one project he'd never even let SNIVELY work on (to be fair, Snively had a traitorous past). Now was his time though, he would show his overly pompous comrades how to REALLY have a ball! He ran out of the room (the door slamming behind him and locking up, he pitied the fool that ever tried to rob him) yelling loudly, "SNIVELY! FETCH MY EGG-HOVER!"

"This is Halloween This is Halloween,, "Sonic hummed to himself, the grill he stood at was on full blast as the barbecue sizzled nicely. The smell wafting up and over the crowd that had been gathered for a Halloween party. It wasn't a huge party, just some Freedom Fighters and family members. While the children, dressed up in costumes, sure seemed to have fun with each other. It wouldn't be a lie if the parents said they weren't having fun. Sonic glanced around at the party; people were spread out, talking and laughing with each other. He could see Sally standing in the distance talking with Rotor and Julie Su, probably talking of politics and battle tactics. The children were in the distance playing around laughing and screaming; so much joy made his chest tickle. Speaking of chest tickling, he turned and looked around again. He saw Shadow in the distance, standing against a tree, wearing CLOTHES again (then again, that was something they all started doing a while ago.). The fact he was standing off from the others wasn't odd, but where was Claire? She usually stood with him. A sharp hissing sound brought his attention back o the grill, flipping some of the juicy ribs, before turning back and looking over the crowd. Where- then he saw her talking with Knuckles and Espio. Instead of her usual white tank top, she wore a black shirt with her cameo coat. But she looked happy. Yet, in the 7 months he had known her, (or rather, since shadow and Claire became friends) he couldn't remember a time when they were APART but here it was now. Did something happen? He gently used the claws to lift up the ribs onto plates and started going from group to group asking if they wanted any strategically making his way to Claire, "Hey! You hungry, Ears?"

The girl smiled turning to look at him, holding out her plate, "Starved."

Sonic grinned back, passing over the food before glancing at Shadow, "Sooo, you tired of Shadow yet? Is that why you're standing away from him? Realize how annoying he is?"

"NO." Claries face, at first smiled then it faded to a sad look, she glanced over at Shadows direction, "He's been like this for a while now ,I've been trying to figure out what's bothering him but he wont tell me…." even though she was wearing her sunglasses Sonic could tell she was sad, despite her smile, "he normally doesn't have a problem telling me things….but this must be bad…."

Sonic felt sympathetic, his hand reached out and put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically, "Don't worry, Shadow used to be this emo before, I'm sure he's just trying out a new look or something. Maybe it's the clothes." he gave Claire a warm smile, before walking away to the other group. So it was bad? Only one way to find out. With 2 steps he was right by the dark hedgehog. Shadow's face was unfazed, his dark jeans that covered his legs were twisted as he stood against a tree, his track coat wrapped around himself. On his face was a scowl, but it wasn't quite like the one he had before he meet Sari and Claire. This look was almost of confusion…but Sonic kept his grin, '"Yo Shads, you hungry?"

"No" even his voice had lost some of its aggression which was even more worrisome. Sonic kept his cool though

"Why don't you come and join us? I'm sure Claire'd like it."

At the sound of Claries name Shadows head jerked up to look at him, then over at Claire (who was still talking to the others) before his face twisted even more as he ducked his head again, a shadow covering his face.

So it was Claire that was doing this to him? "Are you and Claire mad at each other? Did she insult your gun collection, or suggest your get a hair cut-"

"NO." his voice growled from the shadow, he gave a heavy sigh that shook his entire body, "Its what I did…."

Sonic paused again, his face becoming more concerned, "Shadow…I'm sure whatever you did; she's' forgiven you. She wants you over with her-"

Shadow turned and his blood eye met Sonics, his fist shooting out and yanking Sonic forward, his face dangerously close to his, the anger blazing through his actions as he yelled, "She doesn't know what I did! If you hadn't put the thought in my head hen I wouldn't be in this situation!"

Sonic felt something slam into his chest, sending him fling back into the ground, the plate crashing and the precious barbeque ribs soiled, he coughed heavy as the dust rose around him. Slowly and painfully he sat up, looking around for Shadow, "What's gotten into him?" he looked over and saw Shadow storming towards the forest, he hesitated before clambering to his feet and hurrying after him.

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Shadow slammed his fist into a tree with a shout of anger, the cool of the trees protecting him from the sight of his friends. He closed his eyes , breathing heavily to try and calm his rage, "Why? Why did it have to happen?" a feeling of guilt overwhelmed him, making his legs buckle slightly. He grabbed the tree he had been leaning against and sat down on a boulder, leaning forward he panted , "Why-"

"Shadow? Hey Shadow!"

Shadow openly winched in angry, a growl coming from his throat, "Him again." he raised his head to see Sonic running towards him, sliding to a stop. Usually Sonic always had this goofy grin on his face, but now it was concerned, worried. This didn't surprise Shadow, even though Sonic was egotistic and rude, and obnoxious he still had a heart for people. Even a villain like Shadow….

"Why did you run off?"

" I didn't want to talk about it. Especially with YOU." Shadow gave sonic a slight glare, not as harsh as the pervious one, he watched Sonics face go from concerned to aggravated as the hero crossed his arms, "Well you accused me of putting thoughts in your heads, and I have a right to know what I supposedly did."

Shadow growled through his teeth, showing his displeasure.

"Look, just tell me what happened. If you're worried about someone hearing you "spill your guts" don't. No one will hear you. And if you DON'T well." his voice suddenly became mischievous a there was a clicking sound. Shadow raised his head and saw Sonic had taken out his phone, flipping it open and searching through it with his thumb. A growing suspicion started to coarse through Shadow, "what are you-"

Suddenly Sonic turned the phone to face the screen at Shadow, it was of the hallway outside Saris' room, the hallway lights were off but the room light from Sari's room was open. Shadow growled, 'When did you take this-"

"when our kids had their play date, it was late and I was coming up to say bye to you and Sari when I caught this." his thumb click play

From the video you could hear Saris' sad voice, "I'm too scared to go to sleep Daddy." then came Shadow's deep concerned one

,"It was just a bad dream, I promise it wont come back."

"But what if it does?"

There was sigh, then the response from Camera" Shadow, "Is there anything I can do, Angel?"

"Can you please sing that song for me?"

"Ok…but only one time-"

Shadow didn't wait for the video to be over before he shot forward, ,'DAMM YOU SONIC GIVE ME THAT PHOEN RIGHT NOW!"

Sonic slid back, just out of Shadow's reach, but that didn't stop the dark hedgehog from slamming his shoulder into Sonics chest, and his arm to his throat (the phone having been closed now) trying to reach the phone (that sonic was trying to keep out of his reach) as he swore continuously, "SPY ON MY WHEN I'MWITH MY DAUGHTER, RECORD IT EVEN! YOU STUPID BLUE, FUZZY, OVERWEIGHT, LAZY, UGLY-" suddenly pain shot into Shadows head followed by a swift kick to the chest. He went sliding back into the dirt, lights flashing before his eyes as he coughed. Hissing he opened his eyes to see Sonic putting his phone away. A evil smirk on his face, "Unless you want this video of you singing for your daughter to make it to every radio station on Mobius, you're going to tell me wht happened."

Shadow growled heavily, he doubted that Sonic had that kind of power, but Shadow didn't want that video reaching even OEN station. He stood up, dusting off of his clothes before shouting," FINE!" he took a few deep breaths, then turned to look at a tree, to preoccupy his hands, he dug at the creases with his thumb,' It was yesterday. Sari, Claire, and I were going to go to the movies. Like we do every weekend, but this weekend Sari was at a sleepover but we decided to go anyway-"

"wait, you guys went to the movies?"

"yeah, why?"

"Nothing, just continue."

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_Shadow zipped up his coats he and Claire left the movie theatre. The air felt fresh and clean from the on pour of rain. Hissing slightly from the cold he shoved his hands into his coat pockets, "Stupid weather."_

_"it's the end of October, what do you expect?"_

_He glanced over Claire, who was grinning at him. Her cameo coat was open and showed he black t-shirt with the Marines logo on it. He smirked slightly, "Its cold enough to finally get you to stop wearing tank tops, what do you have? 45 white identical tank tops?"_

_"NO, I have 17."_

_Shadow grinned back at his friend before digging into his pockets and drawing out his phone. He clicked on a random number to have the time 8:23 light up slightly, plenty of time, "You hungry?" he asked_

_Claire nodded, "Yeah, stupid movie popcorn and prices."_

_With another grin he took her arm gently (not wanting her to get lost) and lead her further into town. With November just around the corner the small town was decorated to the brim with decorations, white ghosts, and orange plastic jack-o-lanterns. IT showed how much the town really loved its holidays. Normally Shadow couldn't stand holidays but since he live with two people how adored them, he found himself being caught up in the holidays a little bit. He lead Claire on down to a small gray diner, it was the oldest restaurant in town (being built somewhere around the time Knothole was made). It wasn't very popular, though it was loved greatly by its owners and frequent customers. They walked on inside, waving to the waitresses they took a seat in a booth. They already knew what they wanted so they just waited. Shadow's eyes caught glance of a gold ring on Claire's ring finger (her hands around the cup of coffee the waitress had just poured for them). He poked it curious, "Why do you wear that ring? You're not married."_

_"Yeah I know, but it keeps people away."_

_This was surprising "I thought you liked people."_

_"I do…but when I DON'T wear the ring, I attract the wrong people."_

_Shadow paused, becoming even more curious, "Show me.'_

_"Huh?"_

_"Take off the ring and show me."_

_"No, it'll only cause trouble." Claire's face was pleading but Shadows was unrelenting. After a while Claire sighed, "FINE!" she slid out of the booth and set her coat behind her and walked over to the bar stools. She sat there for a few seconds, Shadow looked around then asked, 'What's the point-"_

_Claire held up one finger to Shadow, she gripped the ring and took it off dramatically, tossing it over to him before turning back to her front, sitting there. Shadow caught it, holding it as he watched, now what._

_After a few seconds a tall Overlander teen walked on over to Claire leaning on the counter over at her, "Hey, can I buy you a soda."_

_Claire looked over at him sympathetically (as though she had been through this before), "NO. sorry."_

_Shadow didn't see it though, it was just one guy._

_Suddenly another teen walked over, then another. A feeling of uneasiness started to come over Shadow, there wasn't that many. But slowly the crowd started to grow more and more, along with his anxiety. Soon the crowed was getting thicker and thicker of teens trying to ask Claire the same question. Unable to take it much longer, he stood up and leapt right into the crowed, literally elbowing teens in the face till he finally got to Claire, he grabbed her hand and put the ring back on, before beholding it up, for them all to see, "She's taken! She? Now get back before I throw you all out!" he glared at them, as though DARIGN them to try again. Finally, the crowed dispersed, Shadow sighed happily before looking over at Claire, surprised to see her laughing heavily, "What?"_

_"I warned you this would happen if I took it off."_

_"No you didn't! You didn't say that you'd be attacked by hormone high teenagers! Never take your ring off again!"_

_Claire smiled back, then started heading back to the table (Shadow cursing under his breath) when something got in the way. This time it was tall teen, late in his years. His hears had black and orange striped ears and a tiger tail that seemed to hang dead (proof of his GD). His yellow eyes on her, "SO, the old "wedding ring" trick aye?" even his voice made Shadow growl_

_But Claire just glared, "Yeah, I use it for a reason. Move."_

_"Now now why don't you come and sit with me and my friends? I'm sure we're better company then that freak." he nodded his head in the direction of a booth, filled with GD teens who looked just as nasty as this one._

_"No. Move." Claire shoved right by him, the Tiger Eared teen grabbed her by the arm and in a split instant reaction Claire spun around and slammed her palm into his face with a sickening crack. The Tiger-Eared-Teen stumbled back, a hand to his blooding nose, he drew his hand down to look at the blood that covered his hand. He laughed a bit, glaring at her, "You're going to wish you hadn't done that." he leapt forward._

_IN a blind rage, Shadow grabbed him by the back of his leather jacket and slammed him into the wall between booths, a scuffle of feet showed the teens friends to their feet also, ready to fight. Shadow grabbed Claries arm and held up her arm, showing the gold inhibitor ring he had given her, "You see this! This may not be a fake promise ring, but this DOES mean that she's friends with the Ultimate Weapon. And if you even THINK of touching her, that I'll tear your head off!"_

_The diner turned quiet, a standoff between the two friends, and the GD gang. There was a cocking of the gun behind Shadow, looking over his shoulder, he saw the owner (a grizzly bear) with a hunting rifle out and aimed at the gang, "I suggest you leave, unless you want me to call the cops."_

_The Tiger Eared Teen growled, his face badly bruised and bloodied from the combination of attacks from Claire and Shadow, he nodded to his gang and they stood up to leave. As they walked by Shadow and Claire, Shadow wrapped his arm around Claire's waist and pulled her over, keeping his glare on the gang and DARIGN them to try anything. After they left the diner started up in talking again, and the owner went back to kitchen. The only people left standing were Shadow and Claire, Shadow waited a little bit before looking at Claire, her face was slightly cross, frustrated, "What?"_

_"I could of handled that."_

_"I know…" he looked away, "I just reacted, I'm sorry I ever asked you to take your ring off…." he felt a warm arm wrap around his chest, looking down he saw Claire hugging him around the chest, a warm smile on her face, "But I do appreciate it though."_

_Shadow smiled weakly before leading her back to the table, "Want to go for a walk after this?"_

_"Yeah, that should be fun."_

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"Wait wait wait., so you went to the movies, then to dinner, then a walk?" this all seemed hard for Sonic to believe, his mind spinning at the information heh had been given

"Yeah." Shadow glared back over at him, not liking being interrupted, "what about it?"

Sonic wanted to tell him , but decided against it, "I'll tell you later. Continue with your story"

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_Shadow turned the lights back on in the house, setting his jacket on the chair, "What a night, the movie sucked, we were jumped at the diner, but the walk was nice." he turned to get Claire's coat but saw her walk right into the kitchen. Curious he followed after her, he watched her turn off the oven and take out a pan of bread, "what were you cooking?"_

_"Corn Bread." she reached over to the fridge and pulled out a bowl of pudding_

_"Any reason you're cooking these things?"_

_"Well, Sonics' having a Halloween Party tomorrow fro the kids, and I wanted to bring something. I thought I told you about it."_

_"Party?" Shadow wasn't sure he had heard right; Especially coming from Claire, as they stood in the kitchen. Claire at the stove with a mixing bowl and one pan of bread, Claire carefully turned the pan of cornbread over, allowing bread to slide into a bowl, "Yeah normally I'd use the invitation as target practice, but I couldn't this time. Why? Because 1) Sonic actually came by and asked us to come while you were gone-"_

_"But shouldn't that give you MORE incentive to use him as target practice?"_

_Claire looked over at him, sharing the smirk that was on his face, but didn't say anything to encourage it but her eyes said everything), "2) it's a Halloween party for the kids. They had been planning to go as a big group for trick or treating and wanted to know if Sari wanted to come."_

_"Trick or Treating?" Shadow mentally went through his memories, trying to find anything to relate the term. But despite all his knowledge, he couldn't find anything familiar. When that became obvious Claire emphasized, "Halloween.."_

_"Halloween! That demonic thing is still alive! I could of sworn that tradition would of died up years ago."_

_"Its not evil, we're just going for the kids, they'll enjoy being around each other.' she gave him another smile but Shadow noticed a little wariness behind the face, but he didn't blame her. She was still fighting off a infection and getting her strength back. Shadow was worried since learning of Claries previous PTSD. Not that he didn't think Claire was strong, but since he had dealings with the Disorder as well so he knew how easy it was to relapse. (Having done so himself several times). He looked over at the ingredients, "What the hell were you making?" picking up a egg he tossed in the air a few times,_

_Claire snatched it out of the air (without breaking it) a smirk on her face, "Corn bread and butterscotch pudding, for the party."_

_Shadow pondered for a moment then took the recipe and looked it over carefully, "Sheesh this is easy." he looked over at Claire, "I could even make this." while looking over the cold egg in his hand (wondering where the best breaking point would be) he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, and looked up to see Claire looking at him sympathetically, "What?" he demanded_

_"Shadow….you couldn't even make ice."_

_"Oh please! I'm the Ultimate Lifeform! Not only that but I grew up on a Station with the worlds greatest scientists. Who could make thousands of life curing, miraculous mind bending antidotes!"_

_"I know, which makes the fact that you can't even mix kool-aide without burning it even stranger." she gave a smirk, removing the corn-bread from the oven. Placing the pudding and bread in the fridge before smirking at Shadow (who was currently scowling) ,"And, Shads, don't worry about me. Its not like I'm going to start hallucinating the moment things go bad."_

_A dark shameful flush appeared on his face, so she knew about his worries? He felt a little odd and rubbed the back of his head a bit awkwardly clearing his throat loudly and looking off to the side. Occupying his sites with one of Saris' drawings (hanging from the fridge), "Well, I just assumed since…."_

_"You know what happens when you assume, Shadow." she offered him a smile, showing she wasn't offended, "Well, I'm going to get Sari's Halloween costume. " she walked out of the room, "Don't burn down the house!" the door closed behind her_

_Shadow growled loudly, yelling after her, "As if I'd do something so stupid." he waited till he heard the roar of her motorcycle before going back into the kitchen, mimicking slightly ," 'couldn't mix kool-aid without burning it' p-uh-lease, that happened ONE time." he picked up the recipes again, "This is simple…..I'll show that wolf-eared smart aleck."_

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"Wait, and THEN you tried to COOK?"

'why do you sound so surprised?" demanded Shadow, getting aggravated again,

"Well, I keep expecting to hear something like "I cut off all her hair" or "I threw Sari into a tree' so far you haven't done anything wrong!"

"I haven't gotten to it yet!"

"Then why do you keep pausing/!"

Shadow squeezed his eyes shut angrily, every will of his being willed for him to tear of Sonics face. But the looming threat of the video he had was still heavy on his head. Gripping his jeans, he too a few deep breath,, ,"Ok…ok…after that Claire came back, it was still early so we decided to watch another movie, but….I guess we were more tired then I thought…." his voice started to become quieter, "Then…."

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_Shadow felt consciousness slowly start to come back to him, in the background he could hear music that indicated movie credits. Was the movie over already? When did he fall asleep? He moaned slightly, stretching his arms when he felt a weight on his shoulder. He paused, that wasn't right. He moved his arm again but it was still there. Slowly he opened his eyes and saw Claries white hair, her head resting on his collarbone. Immediately Shadow cried out in shock leaning out of the couch and threw himself away from it. His heart racing ,why had Claire been sleeping in his arms? And why had he wrapped his arm around her ! He panted heavily, trying to think things through when he looked over at Claire still asleep despite his wild movements. Slowly she started to slip forward, rolling off the couch slightly. Before she could fall (And before he could stop himself) Shadow dove forward and caught her in his arms, he watched her for a moment, but she slept away. For that he was grateful. One thing about Claire was that, unless she was begin threatened, she could sleep through anything. He sighed slightly, gently lifting her back up and laying her on the couch. He turned and walked away a few feet, thinking of pouring water on her, when he paused, turning back to look at her. His mind drifting back to the past 7 months, from the moment he adopted Sari until now. He thought about how his life had changed, how he had changed. Shadow grabbed a blanket that was hanging off a rack then walked back over to Claire (deciding to let her sleep for now) and laid it on top of her, just as he was pulling away he paused again, looking at Claries sleeping face, he suddenly understood why those teens had harassed her so much, Claire was beautiful. Out of all the people Shadow had met, (besides Sari) Claire was the only one who never feared him, or annoyed him (sometimes)_ _he remembered all the times she smiled, because of HIM. How his heart seemed to pound faster when he hugged her, even today when that punk was threatening her…what were these feelings? He heard Sonics voice echo back to him, from a while ago, 'you know there's only one way to tell your real feelings Shadow, it never fails'. at the time he thought it was ridicules, something he never thought he would do, but now…he had this urge in his chest...in his heart to know the truth. Very carefully he brushed the hair out of her face, and set it on the pillow by her head and leaned down very carefully. His heart slowing as he drew nearer to her, then he closed his eyes and pressed his lips against hers, into a small kiss. Suddenly his heart started to speed up, pounding in his chest heavily, a burning feeling spreading across his face which made him panic. HE broke the kiss and threw himself away from the couch and fell against the TV with a loud crash. He saw Claire sit up (oh NOW she wakes up!) and look over at him confused, "Shadow, what's-"_

_But Shadow couldn't think straight, his palms becoming sweaty and his breathing labored, the burning feeling dominating his face as he moaned in pain, what was wrong with him? He ran out of the room into the bathroom and yanked on the cold water, pressing his face into the cool relief, but the burning remained, what had he done? What was wrong with him? Shadow felt arms wrap around his chest as he was yanked away from the sink and was pulled onto the floor, his head resting on something soft, forcing his eyes open he saw his head was resting on Claries lap, her face frantic, "Shadow are you ok!"_

_The pain in Shadows chest slowly subsided, as he looked at her face, but a horrible feeling took the place of the pleasant warm one. Guilt spread through him, he squeezed his eyes shut, "I'm so sorry Claire."_

_"Why are you sorry? You didn't' do anything."_

_Shadow felt her hand slowly slip into his, holding it gently , "it'll be ok Shadow, don't worry. "her warm and kind voice sent another jab of pain through chest,, he struggled not to look at her. The feelings swarmed and twisted inside of him like a hurricane, making his body ache._

_What had he done?_

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"YOU KISSED CLAIRE?" the shout came so loudly and suddenly that the birds immediately took off.

Shadow glared over at Sonic, "You're the one that said that it was the only way to tell my true feelings!"

"I was JOKING! Jeez-Louise! I didn't think you'd actually do it!"

"IT doesn't mean anything-"

"Like brimstone it doesn't! You enjoyed it!"

"No I didn't!"

"How do you explain the warm feelings, and the blushing?"

Shadow blinked, 'blushing?"

"Yes Shadow, the burning feeling you had in your face was a BLUSH. And those FEELIGNS were feelings of lo-"

Unable to take much more of this Shadow leapt forward and slammed his fist into Sonics' face, "DON'T' LIE!"

"I'M NTO LYING!'

Shadow felt Sonic ram into his stomach and tackled him into a tree, "And you know the movie, the dinner and the walk! THAT IS A DATE!'

"SHUT UP!" Shadow brought his foot up and kicked Sonic away from him,' YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT BLUE HEDGHEOG!"

"LIKE HELL I DON'T! SHADOW YOU'RE IN LOVE! THE SOONER YOU ADMIT IT THEBETTER OFFF YOU'LL BE!"

"SHUT UP! TAKE IT BACK1

'"NO!"

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Claire paused as she ducked her head to take a bite of her ribs her ears twitching at a very distant sound. Bunnie ( the half robot rabbit of the freedom fighters) notice her hesitation , "you ok Sugah?" obviously not hearing the ruckus

Claire looked in the direction that Sonic and Shadow had gone and paused before looking at Bunnie , "Its ok Bunnie, I'm fine."

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After 20 minutes, the conflict stopped, Sonic was laying flat on the ground panting heavily, supporting a bleeding nose and Shadow was sitting against a tree, a hand over his bruised eye. Shadow, his throat dry, coughed slightly before looking at Sonic with a death glare, "Are you happy now?"

"No. No I'm now." Sonic slowly rolled over, pushing up with his hands until he was sitting on his bottom, he looked up at Shadow, his face frustrated, "Why is it so hard for you to admit your feelings about Claire?"

"Because I CANT love her!"

"Why! Just quit being a sissy and confront your feelings-"

"I CAN'T LOVE AGAIN!" his shout covered the area, bringing even the leaves to a standstill. Sonic looked up at Shadow , his face of confusion then of realization, 'You're talking about Maria, aren't you Shadow?"

Shadow growled and turned away, his hand on the tree, his fingers digging into the bark as he panted, he could feel tears coming to his eyes, "I can't love anyone else….I can't the thought of loosing anyone else…"

"But you adopted Sari-"

"I know…it was hard enough as it is….I tried so hard not to love Sari…but it became unhelpable…then….then I started having these feelings about Claire…they're' so much like the ones I had for Maria that I tried to convince myself they were just feelings you have for friends…but I couldn't deny it….I knew I loved Maria….and I know now….I know….that I'm confused, every time I'm around Claire, I can't keep the burning feeling off my face….I can't stop thinking about her…." his hand reached up and touched his left peck, "My…my heart aches every time I'm around her….my tongue becomes dry…and I get dizzy…..its….its….too much…" he felt a hand fall on his shoulder, turning his head he saw Sonic standing here, his bloody face sympathetic

"Shadow…..you're going to have to confront these feelings eventually."

"I cant-"

"I understand hat….but….promise me you'll try to eventually…ok? Before its too late."

Shadow paused, turning to look at him fully, he was about to say something when a giant sound filled the air, the sound of a engine and loud obnoxious laughter. Shadow quickly started running back to the party, Sonic at his heels. He ran and slid at the forest edge, shocked.

Robots were falling from the sky, a small half circle hoer craft just above the party (Freedom Fighters running in all directions to fight the robots). Standing at the rim of the hover craft stood the terror in red.

Eggman,

The overweight genius watched as the Freedom Fighters ran before him, desperate to fight the threat, "I'm BAAAAAAAAACK!" he held his hand out to Snively (who was by him in his own craft) , "Remote. Now."

"yes sir."

Eggman pulled out the radio remote, with wild laughter he turned it on. A pair of giant speakers came out of the craft, blaring music that sounded awfully like a remix, "Freedom Fighters! This is your last day on this planet! Today will always be known as the day Eggman destroyed you all! MUWAAHHAA!"

Normally Shadow would take his monologue with a grain of salt, but as he watched the Freedom Fighters fight desperately (all while trying to protect their children) he felt a little worried. He saw a flash of white hair and ran in that direction, as he thought Claire was standing there with a shotgun, shooting down robots that came at her, Sari was at her legs, trying to stay out of the way. Claire glanced over and saw him, coming, she reached into her coat and drew out a extra shotgun,' HERE"! she tossed it over

Shadow slid over and turned his back to face Claries, shooting down robots by her side, his feelings currently to preoccupied by the feeling to protect his child,

"We can't last too much longer like this." came Claries strained voice, "Everyone's too concerned about protecting their children to do anything about the robots"

"Agreed." he shot down a robot, in the distance he could see Knuckles desperately trying to protect Lara-su. Shadow suddenly got an idea, he reached down and picked up Sari, moving his shot gun to one hand with Sari in the other, he turned to look at Claire, "Tell the Freedom Fighters to get their children to the forest, they'll be safe there."

With a nod, Claire ran off. Shadow struggled slightly, the robots coming in a endless stream, he gritted his teeth as his shoulder ached from the shotgun blowing back into it so many times "Darn it. " suddenly the robots started to slow down, the energy lit eyes started to fade until the robots started to fall in waves around him, as was any that was coming at them. Confused, Shadow looked down at Sari, her eyes were lit up with gold and her eyes on the robots and felt a little shocked, 'You're doing that?"

"Just like you taught me Daddy."

Shadow felt a swell of pride in his chest, for his strong little girl, but then ran in the opened to the forest edge, he saw other parents doing the same, setting their children. Down. Sonic looked over at Rotor and Tails , "You two stay here and protect the children, everyone else attack!"

Ina wave, the Freedom fighters (and the two G.U.N agents) ran on mass at the remaining robots, bullets flying through the air. As soon as the two groups hit Shadow lost sight of Claire. At first he was frantic then he forced himself to calm down,' Claire can take care of herself' he reminded himself.

Meanwhile above them Eggman laughed wildly, finding wild pleasure in the destruction below him, the music blaring loudly and just ASKIGN for him to sing alongside it, "ITS WHO I AM!" his creaky rustic voice going above the robots as he sang along, "I'VE GOT THE MASTER PLAN! I AM THE EGGMAN-EGGMAN NA-NA-NA!" he laughed loudly, 'THAT'S IT MY ROBOTS! TAKE THEM! TAKE THE CHILDREN! DON'T STOP UNTIL YOU FIND THE CHAOS CHILD-"

"Excuse me?"

Eggman paused then looked down on the battle again, Claire had stopped fighting, her discolored eyes placed firmly on him, "You're here after the children? After the Chaos Child?"

"Yes! Why else do you think I'd bother being here! I'm going to take the Chaos Child, I'll take all the children if I have to!"

Some of the other mothers stopped fighting, all glaring up at him. A feeling of uneasiness came Eggman, as though something really BAD was about to happen, "what?" He demanded of the women, "hwy are you all glaring at me like that for?"

Claire, reached down and reloaded the gun slowly (the robots even backing away from them), "You can threaten our parties, you can threaten our presidents, you can even threaten our lives, but NEVER." she cocked the gun, "threaten our children."

"uh oh."

Sally pointed at two villains, "GET THEM!"

with a roar the ensemble of mothers, (and Claire) leapt up into the sky, lasers blazing through the air, bouncing off the hover eggs. Eggman desperately weaved around, the egg dipping and trying got avoid all the attacks (which included the women themselves) he screamed in panic as Bunnies laser caught his mustache, 'EEK! SNIVELY HELP ME!"

"I CAN'T!1"

Looking over Eggman saw that Snively was literally using his shoes to try and beat the woman off of his hover craft. He gritted his teeth, "RETREAT!1 SNIVILEY WE GOTTA GET OUT OF HERE!'

Without needing to be told twice, the two hover-eggs shot up into the sky, sending the mothers flying off.

Claire stood in the ensemble, doubled over and panting, she was still weak from the surgeries and gritted her teeth angrily, she should of done more to help, and how he was getting away.

There was a flash of red and she was lifted off her feet Claire cried out surprised and glanced under her, "Shadow/!"

"Hold on!'' Shadow crouched down and leapt up into the sky, his hover shoes sending him flying into the sky horizontally after the two fleeing fools. Claire squeezed her eyes shut as the wind whipped around them, she felt Shadow carefully stand her up on her feet, '"Here you go!" he launched her up into the sky after them and he began to fall back down.

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"I can't BELIEVE THIS! The great Eggman defeated by housewives, HOSUEWIVES!' ranted Eggman, his damaged Hover Egg limping weakly after Snively, his bruised face red with anger, "I've never been so humiliated!"

"Even more so then the time Sonic gave you a wedgie?"

"OH quiet Snively! We'll just go on back to the base and scheme again-'

'"HEY EGGMAN!"

Eggman (wondering who could be this far up) turned and saw Claire, floating just above the clouds, gun out and eyes enraged

"Uh oh-"

"THIS IS FOR MY DAUGHTER!" the shot gun shot into the Hover Craft, the craft itself started to give off black smoke, a red warning light blinking from the inside as Eggman struggled to keep it afloat, "NO NO1! SNIVELY SAVE ME!'

Claire just watched as Eggman leapt from his craft to Snively's, clinging to it like a baby monkey. She grinned, then felt dread kick in as she started to fall back down to the earth, looking under her, she was horrified to see the party had just become the size of a ant. Even if she did her safety measures, there would be no way she'd survive the fall. she quickly let go of the gun and crossed her arms infront of her, to await her impact.

A giant rush of energy filled the air as something slammed into her, its arms scooping her up bridal style and holding her close, through her streaming eye she looked up at her protector, "Shadow-"

"Just hold on!" he held her close, bracing his legs, as he slammed back into the earth, his legs giving out, he collapsed on his back, Claire on his chest. At first he just held her tightly, panting heavily, then he looked down on her, "Ar-are you alright?"

Claire nodded, shakily she pulled herself out of his arms and took his hand, pulling him up., "thanks."

"Don't…don't' mention it."

She smiled gently, wanting to say something else when they heard a ,'Mommy! Daddy!"

Turning the two saw Sari running at them, Shadow squatted and scooped her up into his arms, her arms around his neck tightly, "I was so scared! I-I saw you two falling and, and I thought you were going to die."

Shadow smiled gently, hugging her, "We're fine, don't worry Angel…." that's when he noticed her costume for the first time a white lab coat with fake glasses over blue scrubs,' Sari? What are you anyway/"

"I'm a doctor Daddy! Can't you tell?"

"Why did you do that?" right now he just wanted something to distract his mind from the battle that had taken place

"Because Daddy, I want to be a Doctor when I grow up."

There was a pause, a doctor? Shadow thought this word over in his mind, then felt a growing pride in his heart, A doctor.

"Daddy? Can you let me down so I can see if Mighty's' ok?"

"Huh? Yeah.' he set her on her feet and watched her run off, his chest lifted up. He saw Claire looking at him, "what?"

"You're so proud, aren't you?"

"Maybe a little."

After a while, after they made sure that everyone was safe. They all gathered at the party table again, all the food laid in shambles. Shadow held Sari sadly, Eggman had to ruin this day for them…then again he supposed Eggman wouldn't be a villain if he didn't. he watched Rotor comeback, "did you find anything?" asked Sonic

"Yeah, we found some corn bread and butterscotch pudding."

"yeah that was made by me." Claire raised her hand, "I don't think its enough though,

"well, there' 2 bowls and two 3 foot loaves, I'm sure there's enough to go around."

"Two?"

Shadow felt a grin come across his face, he had almost forgotten about the extra surprise he had made. He looked over at the confused Claire smugly, "now, you'll see what true culinary skill is."

"Shadow what did you do-"

But Shadow put a finger to he lips, watching Rotor cut the first loaf (the one made by Claire) the bread sliding apart easily, and the pudding soft and smooth. Rotor went to cut the second bread , but as soon as his knife touched the bread, it gave a hissing sound and sank into itself in a heap of green sour mush, "What the-"

Shadow heard Claire snort by him and elbowed her, "Knock it off!" he hissed, he watched Rotor turn to the pudding , (PRAYIGN that something would go right) he pressed his spoon down to scoop some into bowls but the spoon clicked against the pudding, unable to break the surface, "That's weird, its not frozen or anything. Antoine, can you try cutting this?"

"oui." the coyote walked on over, drawing out his sword, poking the surface gently, "what ez wrong with theez?"

"It seems to be solid, can you break it?"

"I can try'"

Shadow watched them intently, he could feel Claire shaking with surpassed laughter beside him, he elbowed her again trying to get her to stop.

Rotor held the bowl up away from him as Antoine lifted up his sword, in a slashing motion he brought his sword down, the bowl went crashing out of his hands the glass shattering but leaving a perfect pudding shaped like the bowl, his eyes widen in shock, "Sacre bleu!"

Finally Claire burst out laughing, pointing at Shadow she held her ribs laughing. Shadow blushed hard at his humiliation,' Shut up Claire Shut up!" he shoved her arm angrily, but this sent her flying back. To keep her from falling Shadow grabbed her arm to stop her but the lack of balance sent him falling after her, the ground rushing up to meet him and falling flat on his face. He heard Claire (and now Sari) continue to laugh uncontrollably, raising his head slowly, he put Sari in Claries arms before looking at Claire, He looked at her fully, even though her face was smudged from the battle, he still felt his heart speed up at her sight. But he knew that he would just have to live with it. Because, as pained him to be around her with his aching heart, he knew that he could' live without her either.

please review :)


	19. What Makes Us

Ok this is not as good as usual but i think you will definatley enjoy the ending. I did

Claire breathed in the nauseating smell of "G.U.N" cafeteria. The room was filled to the brim with agents and officers who had found time in their busy lives to eat a meal. Despite the smell, and the noise, and the crowdedness she was excited to be back after weeks of being at home. It was a nice change. Even if she wasn't' technically allowed to do active duty yet. THE most action she'd seen since she got back was at the G.U.N Ball (mostly for generals and officers). She felt a small ache fill her chest as she thought about that night, all which had happened….

Speaking of that, where was Shadow? She raised her head and looked around, finally seeing him standing at a table full of tough looking individuals who Claire didn't recognize. Claire sat down as Shadow started waling back over, and sitting infront of her, a smirk on his face that aroused her suspicion, "what?" she asked

"Guess who I was talking to."

"Santa."

"NO, those guys are Marines that the Navy transferred over to make up of man power. I told them about you and they said they'd love to talk to you. You know, Marine to Marine."

Claries eyes widen in shock, she looked over the table he had come from, of course they were Marines. They had the buzz cuts and they had shirts that bluntly had their insignia on it. Instead of giving her hope, she found herself sinking lower, trying to avoid their sight.

"Why are you hiding?" came Shadows voice, a bit irritated

"Shadow, I haven't talked to Marines since I was Honorable Discharged, I can't bare the thought of it right now... Why are they even here?" she didn't mention that, unless you transferred with a big team of Marines, they would become suspicious of you being "False" Marines, Marines that had been dishonorably discharged. She knew this wasn't' true for her, but they didn't.

"They're here for extra man power; didn't you hear me say that? They're also here because of King General (the leader of the entire Military) is coming by for the memorial and to award us with the Bronze star. "

That was even worse, the thought of all that made her stomach turn. Shadow knew her feelings on being given another medal, she didn't deserve it, too many men and women had died that day for her to be given a medal. She felt a hand take hers gently, its thumb rubbing her palm gingerly. Raising her head slightly she saw Shadow looking at her, the irritated look on his face had dissolved into a one that was sympathetic. The look in his eyes caused a ach to go through her chest slightly( a ach she desperately tried to ignore), "Lets eat in the office." without waiting for her answer, he pulled her to her feet, "We'll just order pizza." with his smile he jus drug her out of the room. Claire found no protest, it was better to eat when it was just her and Shadow) or her, Shadow and Sari). She looked down on the hand that held hers, the ach returning. Ever since that ball, things had changed…for the better or worse she didn't know…-

"Shadow! Agent Claire!"

Claire turned her head to see the Rat-Nerd running towards them, his face (which was pale anyway) was frantic and sweaty, and "The Generals request your audience right away!"

"Why?" demanded Shadow, his irritancy returning.

"There's no time to explain, get there immediately!" With that the Rat nerd left. Shadow sighed and turned to look at Claire "sorry, looks like this is going to ruin lunch."

"Aw its fine, we can eat later. Right now let's hurry and see what the Generals want. "He gave her a final smile before pulling her towards the office.

Something else Claire had noticed, a change. Not in herself but in Shadow. Ever since the night with the gang members, he was more….open, warm even, dare she say, protective? At least to her, everyone else who wasn't his daughter was still scum to him. She didn't know what had caused this change but she sort of, well, liked it. Especially since he was holding her hand more. She didn't know why but just having his hand in hers (and her hand in his) brought a more rapid pace to her heart. One that didn't hurt….

She was brought out of her daze as Shadow pulled her into the e conference room. It was dimly lit and smelled of old cigars and bourbon. In a center lined along table,. But only one man sat there. Rufus.

Claire remembered the last time Rufus and Shadow were in the same room and it made her feel uneasy, (especially since the pressure Shadow had on her hand had grown exponentially).

But luckily for Claire, Shadow seemed calm, "Can we help you Captain Rufus?"

"Yes you can Agent Shadow" the aged soldier stood up, a file of papers (tightly wound with a rubber band (in his hands, "How much do you know about Project, Destiny?"

Claire saw Shadow glance down on Claire (which meant he wanted her help on this), "Project Destiny is an A.I program. A living program that would move through the computers that connected G.U.N. Overall, it's supposed to be like another Nicole. He should be able to create things and have basically the same powers as the original."

"Very good Agent Claire." He opened up the files, skimming through them with his thumb for a moment before looking back at Shadow and Claire, "Originally project Destiny was seen as one of the greatest G.U.N success stories of all time. But then… he was affected with a virus. Now-"

"He's' broken free and you want us to go and stop him." interrupted Shadow, his bored voice indicating that he had heard this story before (which they had), Rufus glared at Shadow," Yes. But…this is a solo mission. Claire can't come with you."

In the next two seconds, Shadow released Claries hand and grabbed Rufus by the front, shoving him back and following up by slamming him on the table, eyes raged, "Like hell I would!"

"Claire's still in recovery!"

"Bullet! This is just an excuse to keep her from fighting!" Shadow put more pressure on Rufus chest, "Isn't' it?"

Claire hurried forward, her arm wrapping around his, with all her strength she slowly pulled him off, "Shadow, hallway. Now.'

Shadow looked at her, then glared at Rufus but ultimately took her hand again. Dragging her out into the hallway before turning to look at her. His face was red from his rage and his teeth bared, but he closed his eyes, taking a few deep breath before look at her again, (obviously trying to calm himself down for her). When he spoke again, his voice came out in a deep growl (no intimidating), "What?"

Claire took a deep breath, this was the last thing she wanted to say, "Shadow, trust me when I say I'm as angry as you are, probably angrier, but this is too important of a mission to argue over. I'll stay here. You'll be fine without me." she lowered her gaze slightly her heart aching in sadness to admit this. She felt a pair of hands hold her shoulders gently. She looked up and saw Shadow looking at her sympathetically, hi face closer then comfort, causing the ache to return, " Are you absolutely sure?" his eyes bore into hers, Claire felt her throat dry up and swallowed to wet it, not because of his overbearing ness. She put on a strong face and nodded.

"Go get'm."

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_One week ago_

_Claire stood boredly at the doors pf the ball, the wall was white and carved with gold to make delicate and intricate designs. Even the door she leaned against seemed to be carved with the utmost care. All she could do was watch the upper age officers and their spouses waltz cross the dance floor, in splendid tuxes and gowns. She didn't understand of getting so dressed up for one night. She didn't belong in this world, the only reason she was here was for bodyguard duty with Shadow. Since she wasn't required to dress up, she didn't. She had just thrown on some black jeans, her cameo coat (her only coat) and a blue tank top. She looked around for Shadow (who had snuck to get food from the buffet). She started humming to herself slightly; closing her eyes she imagined the Marine camp she had stayed at. The desert sun and the training, the rising voices as one…_

_'Snap out to fit'_

_Claire quickly opened her eyes to see Shadow standing here, a napkin full of cheese and crackers. He wore an outfit similar to hers, except that he wore a black coat and a white shirt instead of a blue one. His eyes smirked a her slightly, "You're a good Marine, but a lousy guard." before offering the food_

_She smirked, "Just remembering some cadences, from the Marines." she reached over and fingered through the food_

_"You mean like a song?"_

_"It's more like a Chant-Song." She found some cheddar and popped it into her mouth_

_"Tell me one."_

_Claire looked up at him, wondering if he was serious, when she saw that he was she smirked again and leaned over a little bit more, her mind going over the cadences she had learned over close, Shadow doing the same, she recited quietly but with vigor:_

_"_

_NO WAY_  
_gotta run_  
_PT_  
_a lots of fun_  
_alo-righty-lao_  
_alefty-righ-alo_  
_alo-right-lao_  
_left-right-lao_  
_alo-righty-lao_  
_I love to double time_  
_feels good_  
_sounds good_  
_Fired up,fired up_  
_plenty sun_  
_fired up_  
_here we go_  
_on the road... "_

_"_

_A smile immediately grew on Shadows face as he leaned away his chest rumbling with laughter (that he struggled to contain). He looked over at her, "I don't know why that made me laugh."_

_"Because it's true?" she offered with a smirk on her face as well,_

_"Know other ones?"_

_"Well, duh I'm a Marine." she thought again though, before leaning back over_

_"_

_"TALKIN TO MY DADDY ON HIS DYING BED_  
_WITH A SMILE ON HIS FACE THIS IS WHAT HE SAID_  
_WHEN I CAME OUT OF MY MOTHERS WOMB_  
_I FOUND MYSELF IN THE DELIVERY ROOM_  
_ALL BLOODY AND WHITE I RAPPELLED TO THE FLOOR_  
_CUT THE UMBILICAL AND CRAWLED TO THE DOOR_  
_CRUISED THE WARD AND I'M LOOKIN GOOD_  
_BABY LITTLE MARINE LIKE I SHOULD_  
_CAMOUFLAGE DIAPER BLACK BABY SHOES_  
_BUTTER KNIFE SWORD AND BABY DRESS BLUES_  
_HUMVEE STROLLER TRICYCLE TANK_  
_THREE DIAPER PINS ON MY COLLER FOR RANK_  
_DOWN THE HALL I HEARD SOME CRYING LIKE HECK_  
_WALKED RIGHT IN CALLED ATTENTION ON DECK_  
_LISTEN UP WIMPS I'M IN COMMAND_  
_ALL YOUR CRYIN AND YOUR SNIVELIN I WILL NOT STAND_  
_THEY SAID AYE AYE SIR AND I HAD IT MADE_  
_I WAS COMMANDING OFFICER OF THE BABY BRIGADE"_

_This time Shadow couldn't' stop the smile in time to catch it, he leaned back against the door as well, leaning his head against it, grinning back at her, "I can see you as a baby Marine."_

_"Oh shut it, even when I was a baby I wasn't a baby" her voice grew slightly cold, looking at the painted ceiling, her eyes glazed over slightly as she thought about the past, "In the orphanage, if you were "diseased," as I was, you stood very little chance if you let yourself be weak…"_

_'That's why you're a Marine Baby."_

_Claire looked over at him; his face has a soft smile on it. Once again her heartstrings tugging, she smiled back. Then took the empty napkin,' Here I'm going to go get some food." she walked over to the buffet, picking out some more 'fancy" foods before heading back over, Satisfied with her haul. That's when she noticed Shadow was gone. She looked over at the dance floor and saw him standing with a white bat, (rouge her name). Claire was puzzled at first but shook it off, probably just chatting, old friends and all. That's when Rouge leaned over and gave Shadow a kiss on the cheek._

_Pain shot through Claries chest so suddenly she dropped the napkin of food, her breath coming up short as she fell back against the door, tears filling here eyes as her heart filled with anguish and the puzzlement that followed. She grabbed the handle of the door and yanked it open, running out the door as fast as she could. The hallway was dark and cold, her combat boots clanking loudly on the floor as she struggled to hold back her sobs, what was wrong with her? What was she crying? She wiped her eyes on the sleeve, just wanting the pain to go away….she saw a plain brown door and ran in, it was obviously a garage, there were large delivery trucks that had brought the catering tables. She crouched down behind a large stack of boxes and held her chest, what was this happening? Why now? She heard a crunching of numerous footsteps. Looking up she saw the group of GD teens form the diner standing there, the tiger-eared teen up front, all holding heavy artillery, and their faces grim. But the Tiger Teens face was hungry as it glared down on her, "SO …we meet again….Wolf-Beast."_

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Shadow fell to the floor in pain, his cry bouncing off of the stone walls and his empty gun sliding to the side. Another black creature grabbed him, dragging him to his feet by the back of his quill. His body was weak from trying to fight off the ever replicating army of black knights. His knees brushed against the floor as he was drug forward, to the teen who sat on a high throne of stone. Looking up, he saw a teen with tanned skin, and sickly body. He stood tall and his gray hair reached his ears. He was clothes in a tan tunic and gray pants. His white eyes bearing down on him, for the first time he spoke, his voice digitized, "You weren't supposed to come here. SHE was supposed it be with you…"

She?" Who are you talking about?" he demanded, but the AI continued to stare at him with eyes of ice .then its face broke into a fake smile , a wide grin that matched its eyes, "NO matter, she will come if you're here.' slowly he reached out. Out of the corner of his eyes, Shadow saw dark energy running down the walls, snaking their way over to him. He struggled against the robots to break free but it was futile, soon the liquid gripped his skin, the tentacle, digging into him as they drug their way up his body. His mind slowly clouding over.

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_IN her instant reflexes, Claire flew forward, knocking 2 of the goons over instantly, she grabbed the gun that on pf them had been carrying and whacked it against two more. Her rage working for her as she took frown the would be assassin. Suddenly the but of a gun slammed against her collarbone, the pain so extreme she fell back, dots and colors flashing before her eyes as she struggled to see her assailant. Suddenly she saw the Tiger GD rushing at her again. Enraged, she leapt forward, her fist coming up and flying to hit him in the face, but he quickly sidestepped it and his hand grabbed her by the back of the head. Kissing her on the lips roughly_

_Rage shout through Claire , she drew her fist back and slammed it into the Tiger GD's face, with a painful crunching sound he collapsed into a heat on the floor, his face indented and bleeding. Claire stood there for a few minutes; hand over her aching collarbone, why had they been here? What did they want? Claire couldn't help but notice the military moves they had used, were they discharged soldiers! If that was the case then there was strong possibility there were more. Quickly Claire ran out of the room and into the hall. SHE saw a Panic Alarm and pulled it hard. Immediately sirens filled the entire building, red light flashing off the ceiling with arrows to point you to the exits. Claire winced heavily as the loudness pierced her sensitive ears, disorienting her vision. With one hand to her ear she stumbled around to find a quiet spot, finally felt a door handle and pushed it open. IT was another ball room, much tinier then the one she had come from, the lights were off and the furniture was stacked and covered in white cloths. She stumbled over to an uncovered chair (situated behind a stack of tables) and sat there, elbows on her knees as she panted heavily, disgust heavy in her chest from being kissed by that joke. The thought of kisses made her think back to Shadow and Rouge, the disgust in her heart faded back to the ache. Tears sprung in her eyes; way should it matter if he liked Rouge? What about the kiss made it hurt so much? She closed her eyes, fingers right over her heart. The cloth crinkling under her grip as she doubled forward, why…_

_The voice of logic entered her mind," Maybe because someday he might have those feelings for you?"_

_This made Claire scoff, "Why would want him to have those feelings towards me though?"_

_"Because it would mean he felt the same way about you that you do about him."_

_With a cry of frustration. she snapped off the arm-rest of her chair and threw it across the room where ,after a loud crash, it lay silent. It did very little to ease the pain in her chest though, which was becoming so severe she could barely stop the tears from rolling down her face. 'Why now?"_

_Suddenly she heard the door open, and frantic loud footsteps, "Claire you in here? Claire?"_

_Claire felt slight relief, raising her head, "Sha-" but the pain came back, muffling her voice and choking her throat. She didn't want to see him again; she wanted him to go away, and life on the moon or something. /But as the footsteps ran in her direction; a revelation hit her. As much as it hurt her to be around him, she couldn't bear life without him….and as he came into vision, his face frantic with worry, Claire knew the truth._

_She was in love with Shadow the hedgehog._

_Shadow quickly knelt in front of her, "Claire what happened?"_

_But she couldn't tell him, "I was patrolling the hallways when I ran into the GD gang again, they were coming to attack the officers, I fought them off..."_

_He nodded, "Apparently they're ex-Army Rangers, dishonorably discharged after they e=were caught smuggling drugs. They came for revenge." suddenly his eyes were fixated on her face, face furrowed, he reached up and touched her lip gently (Claries heart racing) "You're lips bruised….." his eyes suddenly widen, "Did the Tiger GD kiss you?" he demanded a bit loudly\_

_But Claire's puzzlement went to anger, "why does it matter?" she demanded right back, "When you were over there kissing Rogue!"_

_"Kissing-she kissed me you Yahoo! Not only that but it was on the cheek. Rouge is psychotic like that."_

_Claire searched his face, finding truth in his words, and appeasement to the pain, "Yes, but I didn't want to though, he just grabbed my head and did it….I socked in the face pretty hard though."_

_Shadows face filled with relief then puzzled over again, "And….if someone kissed you…..say in your sleep…would you punch hem in the face?"_

_What did that have to do with anything? "I'd tear their head off," but probably not if it was him. She admitted to herself quietly._

_Shadows eyes seem to grow even bigger then usual and turned his head away, coughing into his fist, "yes...that's….um….a appropriate response…" but there was a tense feeling in the air. He turned to face her again, and his face once again turned concerned as he reached forward again and felt her collarbone (through the jacket), "Its started bleeding again…Lets go home so I can help you change bandages...,"_

_Claire nodded, allowing him to pull her up and hold her hand, walking in the direction of the exit_

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Claire opened her eyes to a rapid pounding sound on her door. Her head was on the desk onto of an edition of "leatherneck" that she had been reading. Sorely she sat up and stretched her arms up, why was she dreaming about the Officers Ball now? That had been a while ago, and since then she had worked hard to help control her feelings. Now she could hold his hand without doubling over in pain. She stood up and walked over to the door opening it, surprised o see Rat Nerd there, "Calvin?" she was the only person on the entire base who knew his real name, "Did Shadow hide your projector again-"

The Rat-nerds face was frantic and worried, "It's Shadow….he…he hasn't' come back from the mission yet. They say he's' been captured….and Destiny has declared war on the Alliance….we're going to nuke eh castle he created…where Shadow disappeared into'

Claire felt her hear give a painful thump as horror filled her chest, 'no…this couldn't be true…' she ran by the Rat-Nerd, hurrying down the halls. When she found the door marked "Captain Rufus" she threw it open, her Uncle was sitting in his chair, face unfazed by her appearance, "Yes Claire?"

"You can't nuke Destiny Castle, Shadow's still in there!"

"We know of that, but he hasn't' responded or reported in, in 1 hour, we can only assume the enemy overpowered him-"

"That's bullet!" she yelled, slamming her hands onto of the desk, "I know Shadow better then you do, he's in there fighting strong! You can' give up on him!"

"It's not for me to decide Claire, now accept this quietly or I'll have guards come in."

Claire drew back from the desk, her pulse racing. "fine…you wont do something…I will" she turned and ran out of the room,) she heard Rufus' chair scrape as he hurried after her). She saw Rat Nerd running towards her and called, "Request a rescue mission to Captain Argus, tell him there's still a man left in he Castle. I Request a team of Marines to go after him." Rat Nerd nodded and ran down the hall. Without pausing Claire turned and ran down the hall again. She c0uld still hear Rufus running after her but it didn't hinder her. She slid into her office and slammed the door after her, locking it before turning on her watch communicator, instantly connecting to Sonic. She barely gave him time to say hello before starting in, "Sonic, its Claire, Shadows trapped in Destiny Castle and G.U.N plans to nuke it. I've requested a team of Marines and a rescue mission but I know I won't be given much time. I'm going to need your help for this one, I need as many Freedom Fighters as you can spare please, remember. This is for Shadow." With that she hung up and reached into her gun cabinet, drawing out 2 pistols, an AK47 and a pouch of grenades. This wasn't going to be a walk in the park, she knew that. But she was willing to do anything for Shadow. She pulled on some protective gear and hurried out the door, shoving past Rufus. But before she could run his hand grabbed her arm, "Claire listen to me-"

"NO!" she spun around, the emotions raging in her chest and glaring at her supposed family, "I will not listen! Ever since my father died you've been trying o separate me from Shadow, saying that it's for the best, but you don' know anything about me! If you really did..." she felt tears of anger fill her eyes, "Then you'd know that I can't live without him!"

Rufus stood there for a moment, the two facing off. Then he released her arm "Very well…..be careful….and come back safely….." he stepped away.

Claire paused for a few seconds, to see if this was a trick. But when she saw he was legit she ran back down the hall. The Rat Nerd stood a the door to one of the hangars waving at her, "I've got the team , the General says you have 30 minutes to get in there and get Shadow out."

Claire gave him a shoulder squeeze, not having the time to express her true thankfulness and ran in. she saw a group of Marines standing around and talking. She immediately recognized them from the Cafeteria, but she didn't let that intimidate her, she yelled, "ATTENTION!"

The Marines instantly went to a line arms at their sides and eyes forward. Claire had never commanded a team before, but she knew there was a first time for everything. she let the AK47 hang on her neck as she walked up and down the line," I don't have time to explain the full details of this mission, so DON'T ask me to repeat myself!" she looked down the line again, "Agent Shadow has been captured in Destiny Castle, our mission is to rescue him in the time frame we have been given. This isn't' going to be a picnic, so I better not see any of you girl-scouts laying around! You will follow my orders! You do that and I promise to watch your backs, understood?"

"MA'M YES MA'M!"

"Good! Now get on the copter, we don't have much time."

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The helicopter was crowded, Claire was sitting at the far end away from the team. She kept her ears to herself but she knew they were talking about her. But she just kept her gaze straight forward at the wall, he fingers drumming on her helmet slightly.

She heard a small scuffle and saw a Marine walking over, easily 2 feet taller then her and 2 times her weight. He sat down on the bench across from her before pulling off his helmet. The Marine was dark-skinned. His black hair was shaped in the army buzz cut and his eyes were green. He didn't seem so bad, but Claire already knew why he was over here, "You and the others have questions Marine?"

"Yes Ma'm." his voice was deep but it held on its own

"Very well, first of all tell me your name , Marine."

"Drake Villa. Private first Class Marine."

"Do you and your friends have questions about the Mission or about me?"

"you Ma'm."

She expected this, they were probably wary of being led by a "false" Marine, "Ask away Marine."

"YOU were in the Corp yourself right?"

"Yes Marine."

"Why are you in G.U.N?"

IN other words, were thrown out? , "I joined the Marines from the G.U.N orphanage. I was part of a assault team for 2 years, lived in a P.O.W camp for 1. I was honorably discharged from the Marines with a Bronze Star under PSTD conditions. I still wanted to serve my country so I joined G.U.N." she looked at his awestruck face ,"You and you're buddies going to question my credentials anymore Marine?"

"No Ma'm."

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The helicopter dropped them off just outside the castle, Claire got a head count then started marching. The area was covered in pink grass, mushrooms the size of umbrellas and strange lights in the air. Claire was automatically wary of it, "Don't touch anything you see Marines. "she warned back…but she couldn't help but state at the odd area. it was almost as though a child had drawn it out of a Medieval legend. But why would a AI need this? Why make a castle? Why make knights for them to fight?

Her stomach twisted in worry, this wasn't going to be a normal enemy.

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Destiny watched the battle from his window, a team of Marines' had arrive a while ago, despite the small numbers they had managed to break into the gate with quite ease. But that was only the first battle, now robots surrounded them, but they were fighting back valiantly. Normally Destiny would have had the ground swallow them up, but for two reasons he didn't. 1) he was programmed not to harm humans, but he could create things that could. But the other reason was that he had seen a familiar face in the crowd, in the fighting Marines. Leading them with grace and strength. Claire…. The sight of her sent his circuits racing…the time was coming nearer. Especially now that the Freedom Fighters had come to join the game

One of his black knights ran up to him," The subject is still fighting the treatment…he's very strong.'

The look of happiness on Densities face immediately turned into a sour scowl as he hissed at the knight, "IF he is not under our control in the next 10 minutes then I will see to it you are destroyed molecule by molecule."

The knight nodded, shaken and ran away. Leaving Destiny to watch Claire and her troops fighting whispering a nursery rhythm in a soft voice," And all the kings horses and all the kings men….."

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Cliare ducked behind a fallen piece of rubble as the gun fire continued around them, Drake by her side and the other Marines in various hiding positins. She gripped her gung tightly as she mentally recounted the firing robots positions, "straight line, very little obscurity…."she turned back to Drake, "Drake you have the Galagos?"

He nodded, he pulled down a heavy case from his back, opening it. Inside laid a huge machine gun, compact into carrying size but it was still heavy. Claire grasped the 2 handles and pulled it out, crouching down," when I give the word ,run to the Freedom Fighters."

Drake nodded.

Claire leapt up, hand slipping and grabbing the trigger, the machine gun immediately started to shake her in hands as she slowly walked towards the robots, the machine gun letting off sparks as it rained bullets on the enemy, around her she heard her team rushing forward, she dropped the machine gun before doing the same, she was so close. They only had a few more feet-"

"GET DOWN!" came the shout from above, Claire barely had time to throw herself to the ground before a grenade fall near them, its explosion shook the ground and Claire took no time getting back up, looking over at her team. It appeared the Marines were ok, that's when she noticed two was missing and she grew frantic, "Where's Memphis and Oscar?" she demanded, looking over at Drake, looking just as exhausted as she was,

"Memphis was hit by shrapnel, its not fatal but he can't move. Oscar is guarding him. '

Claire swore loudly, they didn't have time for this, time was running out and Shadow needed them. But right now her team did too ,she looked over at Drake, "Drake, lead the others back to the helicopter and leave this to the Freedom Fighters and I." in this battle zone they would need a lot of power to get Memphis out of here

"Captain we're not leaving you_"

Claire turned and glared hard, she could feel the rage that had earned her the nickname "wolf Beast" rolling in her veins, '"You will do as your told, Marine, or ` I'll have you discharged so fast your hair will fall off!"

The Marine looked at her, a dark scowl on his face, then turned back to the Marines yelling orders. Claire said a quick prayer for her team before running over to Sonic, who had just thrown one of the knights, "Sonic, we don't have that much time left, I need you guys to throw me in and leave alright?"

"Throw? Claire you guys wont make it-"

"We wont if you keep arguing with me!" why was everyone having a attitude problem today? "G.U.N will be bombing the castle in 1o minutes! We literally have no time to waste!"

Sonics eyes bore on her, it was obvious the last thing we wanted to do was leave Claire here all by herself, but then she sighed and called "Knuckles!"

The guardian ran over, his mechanical eye swiveling at them "what?"

"Throw Claire at the large Center window, then tell Rotor to order a retreat."

Knuckles looked at Sonic as though he was crazy, but he didn't argue, he put his hands down and cupped them together, looking at Claire, "Jump on!"

Claire, unsure, did as she was told, with a grunt he threw her up, the soldier flying through the air, holding her a47 to her chest as the window came close. She closed her eyes and drew her knees in, shooting at glass (to prevent from hurting herself). She landed with a giant thump not eh floor, her knees aching under the pressure. She stood up slowly, the room was completely dark, despite the face the window was broken open. She kept her hands on the gun, "Destiny, I am here under orders of the Mobian alliance, I request you release Shadow the Hedgehog right now." she listened carefully.

Slowly Destiny materialized at the corner, His face , which was normally cold and emotionless, looked upon her with a look of happiness, "I knew you'd come…..you took a while….."

Claire watched him, she had never seen the AI before but she had heard things. The program was seemingly emotionless, in contrast to Nicole, supposedly completely computer but, watching him now, shivers of creep ran down her spine, "Where' Shadow?"

But once again he ignored her, "I've been watching you for so long, laughing with you….crying with you…always here….but never there…."

Claire cocked her gun in aggravation

But Destiny laughed again, keeping quiet.

"THUMP1"

Claire jumped, looking around, what was that!

THUMP!

She turned and fond the noise coming from her right, SHE lifted her gun up , ready to open fire. Suddenly the darkness seemed to lessen; opening up. Standing there was a hunched over shape, its body seeming covered in metal. Claire raised her gun to shot but then horror shot through her as it entered true light. Only able to utter one word

"Shadow."

Btu he wasn't the same, his body was covered in black metal, purple insignias covering him and making words she didn't understand. His breathing was labored and steam came from his lips as he carried around the heavy armor and Clair could barely tell it was him. She turned to look at Density with horror in her heart, "What did you do to him?" she demanded , horrified.

" I gave you what you wanted, you wanted. You wanted Shadow, here he is."

Anger shot through her, aiming her gun at Destiny, "Change him back!"

"I would if I could….but that's only something you can do….noble Claire….break his spell"

The wolf eared girl growled heavily, redrawing her gun to shoot Destiny when pain slammed right into her face, sending her flying into the ground, her collarbone aching at the sudden impact and blood covering her eyes. She raised her head in time to see Shadow on he again, bringing down his fists in rage but Claire rolled to the side. Shadow brought his foot up to slam onto of her, and it soon became a desperate dance for her survival.

'why?' the thought to herself, as she threw him off , 'why now? After everything that had happened, after all the feelings she had to fight through….' she willed Shadow to snap out of his murderous rage. But his covered eyes were emotionless to her mental pleas. The sight of him so tortured , and the fact he was fighting the once person who seemed to care, mad e her heart ach. But maybe there was a way to save him? She thought hopefully as she dodged another punch, What did Destiny mean by "but that's only something you can do'? did she know how to save him? She thought back to what she knew about Destiny (as she threw Shadow into a wall). His demeanor was that of a child…..he made a castle and a field…

Suddenly the castle filled with red lights, a loud siren resonating off the walls, the jets were on their way. They'd come and destroy this entire place….but Claire didn't care, she just wanted Shadow back. To see him smile and say something sarcastic….she wanted her knight back…

That's when it hit her. This Ai was living in a fairy tale. She didn't know if this was caused by the virus or by extenuating circumstances, and apparently she was the fixation of it, but why? And what did Shadow have to do with any of this…

"Break his spell" what did that mean? She saw Shadow charging at her, her body tired and broken from throwing him off so many times, but then it hit her again….and it sent dread down her heart…she knew what she needed to do…to break the curse…

Claire threw her gun to the side and launched herself forward, through Shadows outstretched arms and grabbed him by the face , and whispered, "I love you." before pressing her lips against his. Claire felt her heart speed up and tears run down her face, as she prayed in their kiss, "Please wake up, please wake up."

There was a flash of light, Shadow's armor slowly slid onto the floor, revealing his tired and worn body. His eyes closed he stated to fall forward. Claire quickly hugged him around the chest and fell on her knees, catching his head on her lap. His breathing slowly regulated and his face seemed to be at peace. The sirens became a single resonating sound, indicating the missiles were almost there. Claire pressed her body onto of Shadow….and prayed.

Suddenly light shone around them coming from the ground it covered them up. She raised her head and saw Destiny standing not 2 feet away, instead of a empty creepy face, the AI's face was now sad, but it held a small smile, looking on the two he raised his hand and waved at Claire one last time.

The light consumed them and Claire squeezed her eyes shut once again holding onto Shadow for dear life. Suddenly they were surrounded by screams and frantic movement. Raising her head slowly Claire saw they were back at the G.U.N base. The co-workers were looking on them with wide eyes, wondering where the girl and the man had come from. Claire looked around, it took her a little bit to realize what had happened , the answer escaped her lips with slightly shock " Destiny...saved us….." she felt a hand brush against her tears and looked down to see Shadows hand, his eyes now open and looking at her with concern, "Why-why are you crying?" his voice was tired and cracked slightly, but it was still warm. It was Shadow all the way.

Claire smiled weakly, touching his face, 'I'm just…happy…."

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The incident itself, despite its enormity, was soon forgotten by most. Except by those it impacted the most. Claire didn't forget, she had too many questions for the incident to be forgotten. So she asked the Rat Nerd, who said that , in Destinies last days, that he was frequently assign about Claire, and her past. Referring to her as tragic hero. And how its last wish was for Claire to be a real hero and to have a happily ever after…the realization of this struck …it was obvious that the AI wanted Shadow to be Claire's happily ever after….but…..

4 days later

The ball room was once again cleaned and opened, but this time there wasn't a glorious dance, there were rows of folding chairs, the guests in black and formal wear. Not a smiling face could be found. On the wall there were photos of men and women who had died when Nor Sinister attacked G.U.N. the King General ( a man of more height then teeth but brimming with honor) stood at the podium, behind him stood the head Generals of every military branch. All grim faced. But the general spoke beautiful words, on the losses, they had taken but they'd never forget what had happened. He called forth a prayer, before he called upon heroes made Sinister Day. One by one soldiers came up, solemnly accepting their medals…then the last one came.

"For helping in detaining Nor Sinister, and preventing the further loss of lives, and undying loyalty, I award the Silver Star to Claire Vancouver."

There was a applause and Shadow smirked weakly, 'This should be good." using his cane he slowly made his way on stage. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see the puzzled faces of the mourner, and even more confused look of the King General, whispering, "Claire couldn't make it, so she sent me to accept in her place."

At first the King Generals aged face was puzzled then, glancing at the back of the room, he slowly smiled in understand. A act that automatically made Shadow respect him. Shadow took the medal by the ribbon and walked off stage. Already people were coming together , to talk about what had happened. Shadow wished he could offer condolences to them, but he knew nothing he could say could help them. He saw Claire sitting in the back of the room, her tired face breaking out into a smile at the sight of him, "Are you going to stop complaining now?"

"depends." he swung the medal on his hand, "Are you going to accept the medal? They even changed it from the a Bronze star to a Silver one for saving me."

But, as expected, she shook her head, 'I cant….. You known that…" she looked back at the crowd for a moment, freezing up, "Daniel…"

"who?" he looked at the crowd, the person she was looking at was a tall teen in formal Marine wear, fox ears stuck out from under buzzed blond hair. He was standing with a older woman, probably in her 60's. The teen in question was also looking right at her, as though he had just seen a ghost, this intrigued and unnerved Shadow," You know him?"

"Yes, he was my Captains son, but he was a college drop out drunk the last time I saw him…..'

Shadow watched as the older teen started making his way over to them. Eyes fixated on her. A growl in his chest he quickly grabbed Claries hand, the last thing she needed was a accusation. He started hurrying for the exits when a voice broke out, "Wait! Vanco-"

When it was stopped abruptly Claire stopped. Shadow turned and saw Drake, in formal marine wear, standing in between them, his face stone, 'Leave the Captain alone, she's been through enough.'

Daniels' face was puzzled though, "no, no its not like that!" he called at Claire turned back ,"Please Ma'm there's' something I need to tell you!"

Shadow looked at Claire, expecting her to turn and cuss him out ,but she kept her back to him, "Speak Marine…."

Daniel wetted his mouth, "I…I know what you did for our family…you saved us from bankruptcy and dischargement because you cut off my fathers ears…we heard of what you did….that you survived and joined G.U.N….and….and it inspired me to become a Marine….my mother…she met up with the rest of the teams wives….they have a bible group….and you're always on their prayer list…"

Shadow looked from Daniel to Claire, whose back was still to them, without a apparent response. This seemed to dishearten Daniel, 'I …I just wanted to say…thank you…..for everything." the Marine turned and started walking away. Then Claries voice came out finally, "Daniel."

The Marine stopped and turned around. This time Claire did the same, her face steely but her eyes full of emotion, "You're' father…was proud of you….up until his last breath. And he's'…he's proud of you now."

Daniels eyes widen slightly, tearing up (probably at the memory of his father). The Marine stood and saluted Claire,. Ti took a moment, but Claire did the same. After a few seconds Daniel put his arm down, and walked back to his mother, and his life. Drake left too.

Shadow watched Claire's face, the steely Marine face slowly broke down, her firm stance slowly started to tremble. Afraid she would fall Shadow wrapped a arm around her waist and pulled her close, he felt her bury her face in his chest for a moment, slowly he drew out the sliver star and , with one hand, slid it over her neck. This time, Claire didn't protest, and he smiled weakly, "Ready to go home…..Marine?"

She nodded, and the two exited together. The Marine at peace with her past.


	20. Stand in the Rain

Hrere you go! Its not as good as the last oen but here it is!

Shadow was standing outside in a valley of rolling hills that seemed to go on forever, the sky was amethyst and the ground was covered in green/blue grass. The world was almost disorienting and he was unable to focus, "Where-"

"Shadow!"

Turning around he saw Claire and Sari jumping on a trampoline, they're faces full of joy. The first thing that Shadow found odd was that Claire , instead of wearing her usual, was wearing a light green strapped sundress (still wearing her cameo pants) her hands holding Sari's (the tiny girl probably too nervous jump on her own) green ribbons tied into her hair. Despite this change in her appearance this really didn't faze him. Infact it brought a smile to his face, along with almost childlike happiness he had never known, "Claire, what are you guys doing?"

But the two didn't seem to hear him, they just kept jumping. Sari called, "Daddy! Come on! Play with us!"

But Shadow knew he couldn't….he needed to go….he didn't know where….but he needed to…he turned to walk away, to start off when something fell on his back, sending him flying into the dirt, he brought up his elbows to cushion the fall, but the weight remained. Rolling over he saw Claire was right by him laughing softly, he smirked "What?"

"Stay here, there's no need for you to go."

He smiled softly, reaching out he stroked her hair, leaning forward he kissed her on the lips very gently, his eyes closed he leaned his forehead against hers, "I have to….." his heart longed to stay with her, his fingertips running down her face, "I have too…." he pulled away very gently, climbing to his feet. He saw Sari clamoring down from the trampoline, as soon as her bare feet touched the ground she ran over. Shadow gently picked the small girl into his arms, but he had to go. He turned, walking away from Claire, his heart in an ache but his; mind was in a haze…he needed to go….

Suddenly the sky turned black and the ground changed the blood red, a gunshot filled the air followed by a horrible scream from behind him, in the form of Claire's voice. Panic shot through Shadow snapping him out of his high like state as he spun around, a panicked cry tearing from his lips

"CLAIRE!"

(O^O)

Shadow awoke in panic, his body twitching so violently that he fell off of the couch and onto the unforgiving floor. He laid there for a few moments, his face drenched in sweat as he heart thumped rapidly. He heard running footsteps and before he knew it, saw Claire kneeling by, her face frantic" Are you ok? What happened?" her head reached out to garb his hand but Shadow yanked his hand away, "Y-yeah, just….a bad dream." he turned away from her to pull himself up by the couch. He didn't mention this was the 10th time he had this dream (this week). As he stumbled into the kitchen, he wondered what part of his dream scared him more: the apparent death of Claire, kissing Claire with such a relaxed feeling, or the fact Claire had been wearing a dress (even with her cargo pants). Point was, mixed together it was enough to make him dread sleep. Shadow watched Claire enter the room, fighting the feelings in his chest, "Thanks for your concern…."

"Don't mention It." she gave him a smile and walked over to the sink, starting to work on the dirty dishes with her back to him, "You're coming with me to the meeting right?"

"Huh? Yeah." Shadow leaned against the counter opposite her, sighing quietly; he couldn't go on like this. The guilt from kissing her was eating at his chest like acid. What if she found out? Would she kill him? He rubbed his eyes tiredly, it was bad enough that she was acting weird, now-. He paused as the thought rolled through again, she was acting weird. But why? Ever since that fight at Destinies Castle….

(O^O)

Claire scrubbed a plate rigorously, her heart pounding. The way Shadow had pulled away at her touch made the ache return, he had never done that before. She tried to distract herself. She thought back to the appointment she had today, at the request of her superiors. Claire didn't know why this was happening…but like a good soldier she would do as she was told….

"Hey," Shadow called, "Remember the Destiny Castle incident?"

How could she? It's the reason she got heart burn around Shadow, "What about it?"

"I've been wondering…..when I was under the "spell" just how did you release me-" Shadow jumped at the sound of shattering glass, spinning around he saw Claire standing there, the paleness of her skin matching the whiteness of her hair. Shadow wanted to start picking up the pieces but his eyes were fixed on Claire's mix-colored eyes and hers on his red ones. The same question rolling through their minds:

"Does he/she know what I did?"

Claire was the one who broke it, getting down on the ground picking at the pieces quickly, "Sari might step on the glass, why don't' you go take her to Sonics place while I clean it up-"

Shadow didn't need be told twice, he ran out of the room and scooped Sari into his arms (who squeaked in shock at being yanked out of bed) and hurried down the stairs. Stopping at the base he turned and saw Claire in the kitchen, her back to him as she leaned over the counter, shoulders shaking. A feeling of longing filled his heart, but his mind said 'no', "I'm sorry." he whispered before running out the door. The longing was replaced by a rage in his gut

Sonic.

(O^O)

Sonic gave a triumphant cry as 3 pool balls slid into the holes easily. He twirled his pole stick around over his head, "I win again, not only am I the fastest thing alive, but I'm also the greatest pool player in the world!"

"And you've also been playing alone for 3 hours, "came Knuckles irritated voice from the other side of the room. It was true, Espio, Antoine, Knuckles, Bunnie and Vector had long stopped playing with him (apparently his own awomeness was too much for them). But that didn't bother Sonic, very few things did. He heard a knock on the door, as he was realigning the pool balls into a triangle. He saw Antoine go to it but turned away to continue playing, it was probably girl scouts coming to see if the Freedom Fighters (currently at base) would buy cookies. Which he had no problem doing, he turned to the door, reaching for his wallet in his back pocket when the door suddenly flew open, knocking Antoine aside. There stood Shadow, his face enraged and his eyes fixed on sonic, "You."

"Shadow? Are you o-?'

Shadow disappeared in a blur and slammed into Sonics chest, ramming him back onto the pool table, off his feet breathless and eyes closed from pain. He grimaced in pain before opening his eyes again to see Shadow's furious red eyes barely a inch from his face, his fingers with a vice like grip on his shirt, "QUITV PUTTING THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD! "

At first Sonic winced heavily at Shadows loud voice, but simply glared back, "What did I do this time?"

"YOU RUINED MY LIFE THAT'S WHAT-" suddenly Shadow was yanked off by a pair of red arms that had wrapped themselves around his chest. Coughing Slightly Sonic sat up with a little help from Bunnie. He saw Shadow struggling against Knuckles (who had a hard time despite his strength), swearing a number of words that would make saints ears bleed (me included). But Sonic walked on over, trying to keep his mind off of his ruined shirt), "Mind explaining what I did to ruin your life this time ,Shads?"

"DON'T YOU 'SHADS' ME! YOU PUT THOSE THOUGHTS IN MY HEAD AND NOW CLAIRE KNOWS MY FEELINGS ABOUT HER!"

"Uh huh….." Sonic crossed his arms his eyes calm and level and keeping eye contact with the enraged man. Shadow kept the contact, his eyes shimmering angrily, slowly they became filled with confusion, looking around the room it suddenly hit him (which made him shout loudly), "AND NOW THESE IDIOTS KNOW! DAMM IT SONIC THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" he slammed down on his knees in anger (freeing himself from Knuckles) his teeth gritting together angrily…a pause followed. Then came a voice from

Bunnie, "Uh, Sugah, do yall mean the fact you are smitten with Claire? Because we've known for a while now…"

"What?" Shadow raised his head, "How the hell did you-"

"Sugah, its all in your eyes, you're smitten with her. You would have to be blinder then a bat in Mobian Time Square.'"

"But I didn't even know till a few days ago-"

"That's only because your mind took so long to catch up to your racing heart Sugah."

Shadow growled angrily, his eyes squeezed shut in anger, so it was obvious? To everyone but him? He felt the warm feeling returning to his face, he had to defend himself, "I'm not even sure if my feelings are ….those feelings…..ALL I know is that Claire was looking at me like she was horrified at something….." when he opened his eyes again he saw the others looking at him oddly ( a quick growl fixed that) but Sonic and Bunnie kept a sympathetic look on their faces. Sonic said, "You know, since you claim I'm always putting thoughts in your vengeful brain then let us-"

"What do you mean 'us'?" demanded Knuckles

"Help you sort them out!"

Shadow kept his glare on Sonic, as though studying him, then nodded, "fine." then he walked outside. Sonic was confused for a moment then saw him walk back in, Sari in his arms asleep. A blanket wrapped around her. Sonic couldn't help but smirk at the sight, "you brought Sari with you?"

"Yeah so what?"

"Oh nothing…." he just watched Shadow walk off and lay Sari to sleep in one of the Freedom Fighters HQ rooms. Even though he'd never say this to Shadow, he had to admit that he was a warm loving father. But he was still an emotionally confused fool. He leaned over to Espio, his voice hushed voice, "go check up on Claire, make sure she's ok."

The chameleon nodded, disappearing. Shadow came back downstairs, "Where did Espio go?"

"Charmy got his head stuck in a jar of honey again, now." he slapped his hands together, "alright, let's begin operation: Confessions of a Love-sick puppy!'

(O^0)

Espio saw Shadows house come into view. "Now for the hard part." he sighed sadly. He hated getting involved with things that didn't concern him, but he also wanted Claire and her family to be happy. So here he was. He saw that the lights on the house were off but tat bewildered him. Didn't Shadow indicate that Claire was still here? He took a step forward when a shotgun went off, immediately he threw himself to the ground, "HOLD YOUR FIRE!" he shouted as loud as he could with his hand on his shuriken awaiting the next move and looking for her with his eyes.

Claire came out from around the house, shot gun in her hands but her face was confused, "Espio? What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? What are YOU doing? Why were you shooting at me?"

"I wasn't shooting at you! I was shooting at my targets! Why would I shoot at you?"

Espio paused before climbing back up to his feet, wiping the dirt off his jeans and standing up, Claire looked fine but he couldn't be sure, "Long morning?"

"Yeah….a little…..have you…."she paused slightly, biting her lip and fingering her trigger (which made Espio very nervous), "have you seen Shadow?"

"He stopped by Freedom HQ with Sari, he's…playing pool with Sonic…." He watched her face for a change in expression, there was. Her face went from confusion to sadness, pain filling her eyes if only a moment then she turned away, walking back to where she had come from. Espio, confused, followed after her then froze in horror. There was a statue made of clay with a red line down the middle and two target rings on either side of the line, standing about 10 feet tall, there was a part marked "Shadow" which had hundreds on holes and indents from numerous bullets. The other one was blown with hundreds of shot gun holes, also covered in fist indents, cracks and (what appeared to be) pieces of a TV set. Claire walked a few yards from the statue, drawing in up the shot gun to peer through, her mouth moving as it formed confusing strings of words, which Espio could barely hear above the rapid fire of shotgun, "Stupid-" BANG!" Oblivious-" BANG! "Bat-Kissing-" BANG! "Heartbreaking-" BANG! "IDIOTIC-" BANG! "FOOL!" then there was a pause, smoke rising from her shot gun as her glare was fixed on the target wall. With a huge cracking sound, the wall collapsed from the damage induced onto it. Dusting arising slightly/

Espio paused, his instincts told him to run for his life, but his heart told him otherwise. He walked forward and gripped her tense shoulder gently. His instincts didn't sense just anger, but loneliness and…one more emotion. A pure one he couldn't ignore….

Heartache

He peered at her face, which was red and tear stained. Despite the fact she obviously rubbed it furiously to hide the evidence of her sadness. He knew this situation was delicate (Claire could reload and shoot faster then he could disappear), "Claire…..do you love Shadow?"

Claire looked at him, her face shocked with terror then turned away, "What does it matter, all chances I had with him are gone now…I can't tell him my feelings and expect him to wait for me…"

"What do you mean?"

(O^O)

What had seemed like a miniscule task "Get Shadow to admit his love" But after 4 hours of trying to work around Shadow's feelings, his stubbornness got in their way time after time. They tried to trick it out of him; they tried to get him to write it down, they tried to get him to say it in another language (which only resulted in a Happy Shadow cussing as much as he pleased). But they soon came to a dead end. Sonic called a break. Shadow walked over to one of the chairs and sat down, his hand rubbing his worn face. Sonic walked back over to his friends, fingering his now stretched shirt. He offered Bunnie a small smile. She gave him one back, but was very sad," Sugah-Hog what are we going to do about the Sour-hog?"

"I've been wondering thee same thing Soneec." Came Antoine's irritated voice, "We are not even sure what Shadow desires of us."

"Twan, he may not know, but we do...He wants to confront his feelings, so he can confront Claire, confess to kissing so that they can live happily ever after. We're just….helping him express his feelings."

"Oui Vay…."Antoine rolled his eyes heavily.

Despite Antoine's callousness, Sonic knew there was truth behind his words. Shadow was still an emotionally confused fool, but he was THEIR emotionally confused fool…and Sonic felt sorry for him. He turned back to the others, "Come on guys! We can't give up! Would he give up on us?"

"Oui."

"Shut it Twan, he just needs a push…."he thought it back over, and then a smile grew over his face, "Or a wake up call…." He gestured for the group to gather closer. Which they did, a bit tiredly" I have an idea…we need to FORCE the love out of Shadow. And to do THAT we need to make him feel….threatened…" with that he raised his head slowly, making eye contact with Antoine. At first the coyote just looked at him puzzled, then his face filled with horror, "NO! Pour des raisons de ma vie NO ! »

"But it's for Shadow-"

"Oui, vey very same hedgehog who shaved my head after I commented on a rip on Clarisse's sleeve, what a GRAND friend. Not only that but I am married!"

"Come on, you have that crazy French accent that makes anyone wild with jealousy!"

But Antoine just crossed his arms. Refusing to budge, Sonic began to feel slightly desperate when Bunnie gave a small smile and turned Antoine's' head to face her, "Sugah, it wont hurt me none. That and this is for Claire, our friend, this might help her become happy."

Antoine sighed, while he could argue with Sonic (despite their strong friendship) He couldn't bring himself against arguing with his wife. He looked over at Shadow (who was curtly cleaning his gun) and took a deep breath, "Pour ma femme. Et mes amis."

And strolled on over, his shaking hands behind his back. Shadow glanced up at him, face still irritated, "What do you want?"

"Just…to talk. Ami à un ami. »

"I didn't think we were friends." Without making eye contact with him. Antoine turned to look at their friends. His face heavily irritated, wanting nothing more then to go back and give up. But Sonic waved him on. Antoine sighed heavily before turning back to Shadow, "So…. Claire is….very important to you?"

"What does it matter?" Shadow kept cleaning his gun

"It's just…I can see why she ez so… spéciale."

Shadow paused, looking over at Antoine, (who had sat next to him awkwardly), "spéciale?"

"Et means Special-"

"I know, why are YOU saying that? You're married!"

"Well…even a married man cannot ignore obvious Beauté…" Antoine's face twisted up slightly at the mention of anyone's beauty but his wife's, "You can't get over her….her….."

Sonic sighed though, turning back to Bunnie, "This isn't working, maybe we should get someone el-"

Suddenly a huge crashing sound filled the air, Sonic spun around to see Shadow pinning Antoine to the ground, Shadow had twisted Antoine's sword up his back, holding it in place with his elbow, his hand having twisted down and grabbed Antoine's sword, which was now to the coyote's throat. The hedgehog's eyes were blazing so much that Sonic knew Shadow wasn't fooling around. He hurried forward and wrapped his arms around Shadows chest, yanking him off, but the Sourhog fought against him, thrashing around like a crocodile, "YOU WANT T COMPLIMENT CLAIRES WRIST! YOU LOOK AT HER WRISTS AGAIN AND I'LL PULL YOUR HEAD OFF YOU STUPID-"

"You're attacking Twan because he complimented Claire's wrist?"

"HE HAD NO RIGHT TO LOOK AT HER! SHE'S NOT SOME EYE CANDY! SHE HAS A HEART! SHE HAS FEELINGS!' Shadows voice was getting so loud that the windows of Freedom HQ had begun shaking just by the sheer volume of it all. But that gave Sonic an idea, he looked back over his shoulder, eyeing a door to an empty room, he quickly started backing up to it, dragging Shadow with him. Shadows thrashing and jerking made Sonics grip shake. But soon he twisted on his heel and hurled Shadow inot the room, running in after him and slamming the door shut, only to have Shadow slam into him, elbow to his chest. Sonic cried out in pain but reached up and grabbed Shadow by the front, spinning around again and slamming him into the door, a few inches off the ground. Sonic's arms were shaking from trying to hold Shadow back, but this was it, it was make it or break it, "You're overreacting! Claire's just a leatherneck girl, there's nothing about her that's worth this-" he regretted his words immediately when Shadow socked him across the face and brought the bitter iron taste of blood to his lips. He stumbled back, hands to his lips to support the damage when Shadow grabbed him by the shirt and slammed HIM against the wall, "CLAIRES NOT JUST SOME GIRL! SHES FOGHT FOR HER COUNTRY, SHE LOVES PEOPLE! SHE CAN SHOOT THE PUPIL OUT YOUR EYES WITH A SPIT-SHOOTER FROM 4 MILES AWAY WITHOUT KILLING YOU! SHE ENCOURAGES ME TO BE BETTER! TO BE STRONGER! I CAN'T STAND LIFE WITHOUT HER! SHE UNDERSTANDS ME ANDI UNDERSTAND HER!"

Sonic grinned pained, the pressure on his chest making it hard to breath but he knew he had Shadow right where he needed to be, "What are you trying to say Shadow?"

"I LOVE CLAIRE YOU IDIOT! WHAT PART OF THAT DON'T YOU UNDER-" Shadows face suddenly froze up, his eyes wide with realization, his hands released Sonic as he stumbled back, looking down at his hands. His mouths moved for a minute soundlessly then he spoke, his voice hushed and raspy ,"I….I love Claire."

Sonic smiled , victory belonged to the Freedom Fighters, "Well don't stand there gaping about it, go tell her! Go Go!"

Shadow stumbled around confused (disoriented from his epiphany) and ran out of the base. Sonic could see Bunnie, Knuckles and Vector helping Antoine, so he slid down onto the ground, hand to his bleeding mouth, "Mission accomplished."

"Uncle Sonic?" came tired sleepy voice

Sonics smile slid off his face, slowly turning around he saw Sari sitting up slowly, out of the seemingly empty bed rubbing her eyes tiredly, "Where's daddy?"

"Uh oh."

(O^0)

Shadow skated through the woods, the sky and trees becoming a blur, he could barely keep his eyes open against the stinging wind. His heart pounding in his throat as the words kept repeating in his mind over and over again, "I love Claire, I love Claire." The words almost felt alien to them. But the feeling was legit. But how was he going to tell her? Maybe it was better to just up and say it. His house came into view and his heart leapt. Now was it! He ran for the door when Espio opened in, his face grim, "Wait-"

"Get out of my way'

"Just listen to me! You can't tell her-"

"why not?" shadow tried to push by him, but a rough shove in the chest sent him flying back, a irritation growing," Get OUT of my way!"

"She's not going to say it back Shadow! She can't!"

"What?" Shadow ran forward, shoving him out of the way and ran in, the house empty, he called out, "Claire!"

"She's not here."

A deep growl came from Shadow's throat, turning around he saw Espio walk back in. ,"Explain."

"She went to talk to her superiors, the meeting you were supposed to go with her."

Shadow paused, when the memory hit him, his hand went his head in horror, "No….I completely forgot."

"They told her she could be a Marine again, a liaison agent between G.U.N and the main military branch.

That didn't make sense, "that's great though, why would that be so bad? And I want her to tell me!" he shoved right by him and ran through the house, outside he could hear the rain start outside, but he could only hear his calls through the empty house," Claire! Claire come on!" he searched but only ended up at he front door, the door adjourned open and rain coming in, but he barely noticed, "Claire! I don't care about the liaison officer, I don care if you leave G.U.N period! I just…."he paused, a strong urge coming over him," I love you-"

Something caught the corner of his eye in the doorway. Turning around he saw Claire standing there, drenched in water, her hair sticking to her tank top and her face was white with an expression he couldn't quite tell. Without a word Claire turned and fled into the rain, almost disappearing.

Shadow could only watch, his heart stopping slightly. He heard Espio come up behind him, "Shadow,….I warned you…."

Shadow watched the rain fall on the kitchen granite. Before he could stop himself he ran into the rain, after the traces of her pure white hair, "CLAIRE!"

(O^O)

Sari tapped the pool balls with her pole, the balls sliding into the holes perfectly, "I win!" holding her hand out to Sonic who leaned against his own pole, awestruck,

"Dang it…" reached into a bag on the floor he drew out 5 cookies, handing them over to he tiny girl who took them, munching happily. Sonic grinned looking out the window, Shadow had left a while ago, leaving Sari in his care. He didn't' know how it was going between Shadow and Claire, he hoped it was going well. He also wanted to see what was going on, a grin flowing across his face, "hey Sari, want to head back?"

Sari looked back from her slaughter of the cookies nodding, "Please!"

Sonic grinned, going over to the couch and picked up the blanket and walked back over and put it around her, over her head, and picking her up, running out the door.

(O^O)

Shadow ran after Claire , he could barely see the contrast of Claire's hair in the rain, and the rain was freezing cod against his hot skin, but he didn't care. He needed her to know,…."Claire!" he shouted, wanting to be heard.

"GO away!" the response was so quiet against eh rain he couldn't' be sure he heard it. But he couldn't give up, ducking down low the rain misting heavily under his hover shoes. He gave huge burst of speed and flew on ahead, grabbing one of the surrounding trees and swung around Claire slammed into his chest, his arms wrapping around her and hugging her tightly to his chest. Immediately her hands flew up and shoved herself away from him, "Why are you here?"

"You ran away, and I came after you.'

"Why! Claire I have something important to tell you-"

"I know… that's' why I ran….."Her face was unreadable through the rain

"Why? Claire I love-"

"Don't say it!" her voice interrupted curtly emotion thick in her voice, "please…you cant….Shadow I'm going to become a liaison through the Marines….so I can be a Marine and still work at G.U.N…"

"Why does that matter?" again with this stupidity

"It's going to take some times, I'd be the first liaison officer. Its going to take a lot of work…and a lot of time…emotion was beginning to rise up even more, covering up the anger, "I can't ask you to wait….I can't live with you anymore if I'm going to do this." She backed up away from him, the rain almost concealing her from him, "I cant…

Shadow felt his heart start to ache, why was she saying this? Was al of this for nothing? Did she not love…. Then it hit him, "You're in love with me too…aren't you?" there was a little hope in his voice, wanting to hear the answer. After what seemed to be an eternity came a whisper so faint it was almost covered by the rain,

"Yes…."

Heart in his throat he strolled forward through the rain and grabbed her by the shoulders, finally her face was clear. Tears had mixed with the water, by her eyes he could tell her heart was hurting just as much as his was….but he had lost love once...he wasn't going to loose it again, "Claire…I don't mind waiting...I don't mind the stress….."

"But I do. Shadow I can't ask this of you…this also affects Sari-"

"Sari already thinks you're her mother-"

"But what if-"

"Claire…"his voice cut in, she quieted up, he squeezed her shoulders, "Just listen please…I love you….I had a chance at love before …I lost it. I don't want to loose it again…I don't care about the Liaison…if they offered for you to be the first Liaison then they can obviously give you the rights to be a full on Marine again…But you didn't ask…" he wondered if she could hear him, "Which means you don't want to give up as much as I do….I don't' care if I only see you once a week Claire…or once a month….I…..I want to try….Claire…."

There was a pause, it was up to her now…up to her to choose….he found himself praying deeply for her…..and him….

Then her voice came out. Small and fragile, "If…if you really love me…and you're not lying ….prove it…" her voice dipped even more, "Please…."

Shadow felt his throat dry up at her words, her eyes looking intently into his and his and into hers, what was he supposed to do? Slowly a realization came over him, slowly one of his hands came off her shoulders and cupped her face very gently. Claire closed her eyes quickly, (shadow almost wanting to do the same). His mind flashing back to the night when he had kissed her in her sleep…but he knew what he had to do….slowly he leaned forward, his face soon a centimeter from hers, and whispered, "I love you…."

After a pause her lips whispered back, "I love you too…"

His heart suddenly released itself as he pressed his lips against her, embracing in the kiss he had so long wanted. He Felt Claire wrap her arms around his neck and his arms around her. Happiness filled his very soul, this was the moment they had been waiting for a long time….

A few feet away stood Sonic with a smirk on his face, holding Sari as they watched them. Sonic looked down on the small girl, "How do you feel about this?"

"I think it's about time! Finally they can really be my mommy and daddy."

A faint chuckle came from him, he gave them one last glance, "here Sari, I'll take you home so we can leave them be."

"Ok."

Sonic ran off, disappearing and leaving them in the rain in their kiss. His thoughts repeating what Sari had said..

It's about time


	21. The Storm part 1

Yes! the finale has begun! Enjoy hopefully! And please forgive the layout

Eggman cried out in pain as his body hit the steel floor. The door to his extra secret lab had been blown off with extreme force. His face was stinging profusely from the blast. His hearing was a hazy as his comprehension of the situation. He could barely see the shapes of Dr. Fintivous walk in, a white hanky over his mouth as he looked down on him with distaste, "Look at you, to think you were once the most feared ruler on Mobius...now you're nothing. " his voice becoming lucid" But you do create some fascinating devices…"

Eggman was still buzzed and dazed from the initial explosion, but it was clear enough to see Mephiles reaching around the stasis tube gripping tightly he started to pull it out, steam filling the room and panic filling Eggman, "YOU FOOL! IT'S NOT READY!" he leapt up, reaching and grabbing a laser gun from his side. The Tracker slammed his foot into his tender side, knife grazing his throat, 'Don't move fat man."

Fatman? Now that was just mean. But it was the last thing on his mind, "Fintivous stay away from that! It's not ready! If you release him now-"

The white traitorous echidna turned to smirk at the groveling buffoon, teeth glinting, "I'm not going to release him, I have other plans….and I can't be associated with a failure like you." he turned back over capsule in Mephiles hands. Peering into the glass (obscured by the thick material) he could see a body of a hedgehog, his fur white and blue spiraling in the life giving chemicals that filled its home. He pressed his hand on the glass, "Just a little bit longer…" with that he turned to the doorway, without looking back at the groveling man he said, "Farewell Doctor, it was a pleasure doing business with you." with that he left the room, he saw the Tracker appear to his right and Mephiles to his left, carrying the huge stasis tube. A feeling of satisfaction filled his chest, "Now, let's continue on." he waved his hand, a golden ring floating off his wrist and creating a portal. He turned to his associates, "Tracker, when we get back, prep the lab for the Stasis tube, it has at least 12 more years until it is ready to open. Mephiles, when we get back its time for you to-"

"No."

Fintivous paused, not sure if he had heard right. He turned around to see Mephiles, the creatures eyes were enraged. With a swing of his hand he set down the stasis tube, which created a loud sound. Fintivous watched it carefully to make sure that the tube was alright before turning to return Mephiles angry glare "Is something the matter Mephiles?"

"I'm tired of being used as your henchmen, you promised me I could kill Shadow the Hedgehog myself! But no, all I've been doing is your dirty work you fool!" dark energy ran down his hands. But Fintivous had expected this. He grabbed Mephiles by the face, forcing him to look into his eyes, "Do not forget, my friend, that is was I who released you from the Zone Prison, it was I who helped you regain your powers." his fingers tightened around the creatures jaw, "Or have you no honor in your deals?"

The purple hedgehog scowled and yanked away, but said no further words. Fintivous smirked and turned away, walking towards the portal, "Besides, my friend, you're time is coming very soon, after all, there's a very special little girl we need to get." out of the corner of his eye he could see Mephiles eyes turn from confusion to a sneering satisfaction.

"As you wish, Doctor,"

(O^O)

Sari stood at the door of her room, propped open so slightly. She could see the faint light from the living room below and the shapes of Claire and her Daddy moving around. She struggling to keep the mischievous smile off her face, even though she couldn't hear what they were saying she could feel the energy in the air. And it was good.

When her brother had died just 7 months ago, Sari didn't know what would happen to her. She remembered how sad she was, heartbroken and lonely. She had no idea what was going o happen to her. And now she had a daddy, a mommy, ad n a nice warm house and a best buddy. Her arms tightened around the Hobbit in her arms (something Shadow had given her in remembrance of his friend from a long time ago) she rubbed her face against it slightly before crawling back in her huge fluffy bed, pulling up the huge comforter over her she snuggled into the sheets with her head resting on the book slowly drifting off. Suddenly the room was filled with a cold chill, making her grip the bunny tightly to keep from chattering. But it couldn't keep the creepy tingly feeling from crawling up her spine

"Hello Child."

Sari sat up slowly to find the location of the voice as cold and creepy as the room. TO her horror Mephiles stood at her window, eyes looking down at her. A scream got caught in Sari's' throat, frozen in horror in primal hope he wasn't' looking at her, but there was no deterring those piercing eyes. All she could do was grip her rabbit. Trying to gasp out for her father, "Da-da-"

"What's the matter sweet Child? Uncle Mephiles isn't allowed to visit?" slowly the death colored hedgehog made his way around the room, looking at the shelves covered in books and small statues. He reached up fingering a small dinosaur figurine before running down the spine of a book," 12th grade Anatomy, looks like you're quite brilliant. Just as Eggman predicted, it seems like only yesterday you were just a spot in a creation tube. It's such a shame that's where you need to go back to." he turned away from the bookshelf.

Suddenly Saris' legs filled with life. She rolled out of the bed and between his legs. She ran into the closet under his outstretched hands and yanked the door shut. She grabbed a broom and shoved it in the opening between the door and the wall. Just heart beat later the door started to shake violently. Voice found its way back to her throat and she screamed at the top of her lungs, "MOMMY! DADDY!"

Not a moment later a huge crashing filed the room, the door yanking open to reveal Claire, her face panicked. Sari threw herself (and the stuffed bunny) into her arms. Over Claire's shoulder she could see Shadow pinning the thrashing Mephiles into the floor with eyes enraged

"Daddy!" a feeling of security falling over her, if her daddy was here then everything would be alright.

But her father's eyes said differently as he looked over, "Claire, take Sari and run!"

Claire nodded, tossing a gun in his direction and ran out the door, running for the stairs. But confusion still stayed on Sari," What about Daddy? We can't leave him!" but at the moment her adoptive mother was unable to answer. Claire ran as fast as she could, leaping down the stairs, and out the door. She leapt onto her motorcycle, unhooking the helmet that hung by the cycle and pulled it onto the small child head but she put her hands up, desperate to get her mother's attention,' Mommy, isn't Daddy coming!"

Finally the wolf girl looked at her, her eyes being as comforting as she could," He'll be with us soon.", she held the child close to her chest before revving up her engine and riding away .

(O^O)

Shadow was relieved when he heard Claire's engine rev away with his child. Now he could focus, gripped Mephiles by the back of his quills and slammed him into the wall with the shattering of mortar, "Get up you worthless piece of trash." he demanded in a growl

Mephiles stood and turned around slowly, "My My Shadow, I know it's been a while, but must you be so violent?"

"You tried to take my child!"

"You always were…'touchy' but I never took you for sensitive." his face, though lacking a mouth, was twisted into a mocking sneer, "it's so unlike for you to be so attached to another living thing."

"Don't act like you know me." Shadow used his other hand to cock the gun slowly, "I'm going to end this right now before you hurt my daughter." He raised it slowly, right in line with Mephiles eye. But his face was still unwavering, if anything if grew colder, crueler, "Stupid boy, you know just as well as I do that that little girl doesn't belong to you. Never has, never will. Neither the child nor that deformed girl. "

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"The GD Freak belongs with the Marines, with that stupid "Semper Fi" junk. And then there's sweet little Sari."

"Sari doesn't have anyone! Remus rescued her and I saved her. She had no one besides us!"

A deep rumbling came from Mephiles, his version of a laugh, "I supposed you wouldn't know. Little Sari wasn't created like you were. You see Test Tube Creations barely ever come into fruition. There were dozens of experiments before she was created. And Robotnik only had one chance. So he impregnated a young woman. Paid her to carry the Chaos Child for 4 months. Paid her, then took her out of the mother and Into the test chamber. A young woman who is still alive to this day, of course how could you know?"

Horror filled Shadow a empty feeling filling his chest, the mere thought of a parent …his fingers tightened around the gun tightly as he took a step closer the gun only a few inches from Mephiles head. He willed himself to pull the trigger; he certainly had the capacity to. But it felt like his dry ice. Painful to move. Mephiles must of realized this because it made the lights in his eyes dance , "It's such a shame. When I first met you; you were so full of promise "Quick to kill and slow to hesitate". You were truly a monster then." he took a step forward, grabbing the barrel of Shadows' gun and pressing it to his forehead, his eyes straight into Shadows, "You can't even kill the man whose trying to steal your child."

The paternal sensors in Shadow's head sparked off at a white hot rage. He slammed the butt of the gun into Mephiles head and threw him into the wall before running after him and slamming his shoulder into Mephiles chest. With his free hand he forced Mephiles head up, "I don't care what you say. I will not go back on my threat to you: if you touch MY child. I will break your body in so many ways you'll need a matchbox to bury your body."

The demented hedgehog leaned forward slightly once again, voice strained but meaning the same "Keep this spirit Shadow the Hedgehog. It's much more interesting."

Shadow gritted his teeth, but forced it into a smile, "You're not going to be alive long enough for it to matter. I'm finishing this once and for all!" he drew his fist back. Ready to end his daughters suffering. But Mephiles just stared at him and he could of sworn that his face (mouth missing) was twisted into a smirk.

Suddenly something caught his fist, turning his head he saw a black web like substance wrapped around his fist. He yanked against it angrily, another web shot out, grabbing him around the neck, "NO!" he yelled out loudly, he threw Mephiles away with his free arm before turning to face the hidden assailant, suddenly Mephiles leapt onto his back, arms tight around his already choking throat, Shadow threw himself from side to side, this couldn't' happen. Not now! "No.." this time it came out weak, raspy, growing dizzy from lack of oxygen he gasped desperately and wavered. There was a sudden impact on the back of his head, sending him flying to the ground, darkness coming over him, he gripped the carpet weakly, trying to pull himself away from his assailants. He whispered out two last words before succumbing to the darkness.

"Sari…Claire….."

(O^O)

Sonic sighed heavily walking down the hall; it had been one heck of a night. He had been woken up late in the night by Claire standing over him, Sari in her arms, saying that they had been attacked in the middle of the night and that Shadow needed them. Sonic had immediately rounded up the Freedom Fighters and set off into action, Claire wanted to come to, but Espio convinced her to stay with Sari.

Sonic had ran as fast as he could, to get there before it was too late. But Mephiles was already gone, along with Shadow.

The Freedom Fights and Chaotix spent most of the night searching for Shadow, but there was no trace. This was officially an emergency. Sonic rubbing his eyes tiredly, how could a night go so wrong? He walked by a door and paused; Sari and Claire had been given separate rooms to sleep, since it had been a long night. HE carefully pressed his hand to the sliding panel and pushed the door open. He poked his head in carefully and froze. Sari's' bed was empty and messed up. Panic shot through his throat, how did this happen? Someone took her too! Sonic sped down the hall and ran threw open Claire's door, "Claire-Sari's' gone-"

The wolf eared girl shushed him angrily, Claire was lying on her bed, Sari was laying by her sound asleep. Claire patted Sari on the head before climbing over her carefully and walking out the door, "What the heck is wrong?"

"I- I thought Sari was missing-"

"She was scared, so I told her she could sleep in my room." slowly Claire pulled herself out from under the sleeping child and walked on over, stepping outside the door and turning to face Sonic with her emotionless face.

Now, Sonic had loads of respect for Claire, but it was moments like this when he was weary of her. How she could make her face cold and dark? But he also knew it was how she had kept herself alive in the Marines for so many years. And for that he considered her to be as much of a hero as he was (which was pretty much), "Shadow's still missing. We searched for hours, I'm sorry."

"That doesn't mean he's dead."

"Of course! We're still looking for him-"

"And me and Sari?"

This was the hard part, "I don't know, G.U.N and Sally are currently in a screaming match to determine contest to see what should be done." He awaited her response.

Claire's face never wavered for a moment, "Tell them that G. U. N can take care of a Safe House for me and Sari. The Freedom Fighters can utilize their resources to find Shadow. And if they don't approve of this then I am leaving with Sari."

"I'll make it happen." then he smirked, "now I know what Shadow sees in you."

For a moment Claire's' eyes smiled, but keeping her mouth thin, "I don't have the slightest idea what you are talking about." with that she turned her back and walked back into the room.

Sonic just shook his head with faint happiness and walked down the hall.

(O^O)

Claire sighed slightly. It had been a long night. A year ago this would have been nothing, maybe she was getting soft. Slowly she sat back down on the bed and pulled Sari's head back onto her lap. The small child whimpered slightly, her eyes opening a smidge, looking at Claire through sleep ridden eyes, "Mommy? Is Daddy back?"

Claire sighed slightly, this would be the hardest part of all, "Your father….is still gone….but he'll be back soon."

Sari's' eyes opened a little bit wider, tears filling up slightly, but not overrunning. She rolled over, gripping Claire's pants, " I miss Daddy….I don't want to loose him…"

The wolf eared woman slowly started to stroke the child's hair, "He'll be back as soon as he can…."slowly she watched Sari fall to sleep slowly. After a while she looked back out the window, the trees were shaking, from cold wind and the full moon lit up the valley. She couldn't help but feel hopeful that any second she would see the black and red blur running in their direction, and that Shadow would run in with that idiotic look on his face….but this wasn't' a fairy tale. That probably wouldn't happen. She closed her eyes and prayed quietly, "Please bring back Shadow for Sari…and for me…" with that she rested her head against the wall, one last voice on her whisper, "Shadow…"

(O^O)

Shadow slowly felt consciousness flow back into him, his head and throat were throbbing painfully, he could feel he was resting against a cold stone wall his wrists and ankles bound by chains. He could smell cold mold and mildew, the air cold and moist on his skin. Slowly he opened his eyes. The room was a dungeon, with no exit spots except for the ceiling. He coughed gently and pulled against the chains, despite the fact he could have only been out for a few hours he felt insanely weak. Feeling disgusted he pulled against the chains again; he couldn't even make them jingle. But he knew they were the cause of his power displacement. But that didn't mean he couldn't yell, and boy did he feel like yelling,

'HEY YOU STUPID A-HOLES! WHO EVER IS BEHIND THIS HAD BETTER GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!"

Slowly the ceiling groaned and slid open. One dark figure appeared at the rim. The bright lit shining in blinded Shadow for a moment, but when his eyes refocused he could see the unmistaken able shapes of Mephiles, "Good Morning Shadow, sure you can sleep heavy."

The last memories before being knocked out flowed into him, rage shot through him, "where the hell am I! Where's Claire and Sari? What have you done to them?" Had Mephiles finally captured them?

"Unfortunately your brat and the JugHead have escaped and are currently in the custody of the Freedom Fighters…."then his smirk deepened, "At least for now."

The relief he felt was short-lived, "So what is it? You feel that lonely that you have to talk to your prisoners?"

Mephiles growled slightly, he took a foot off the ledge and floated down slowly, landing just a few feet from Shadow, " Lonely no, Prisoner, yes." he placed his hands behind his back," You see, you are trapped. The chains that are holding you are specially engineered by Dr. Fintivous himself. It is designed to slow blood flow and drain energy. You're as helpless as a kitten right now."

"Fintivous…." that name was poison on Shadows lips, "What the hell does he want anyway?"

"I thought it was obvious, even you can use your pea brain to figure it out. You see, Fintivous has been working with Dr. Eggman for some time now, but not to help Eggman find your child…..at least not to help Eggman …Fintivous wants the Child for himself. To experiment on and raise as his own. His own little weapon. Unfortunately now she has that stupid JugHead Marine protecting her…" Mephiles eyes darken even more, "She is quite beautiful. I can see why you fell in love with her…..it's just too bad she will pay for getting in our way. By the time we're all done with her…well. Let's just there won't be anything left of her."

Shadow growled loudly and yanked against the chains again struggling. He yearned to break free and destroy Mephiles once and for all, "I'm not going to let you hurt them! I'll break free then -"

"But you can't, don't you see? This is a storm drain, I clogged all the exits, you're so far no one can find you. And as soon as it storms…well you know…" he leapt up to the rim of the cave, "farewell forever, Shadow the Hedgehog." there was a slamming of cage door as Mephiles yelled back down, "I believe they call this , Water Torture." he teleported away.

Shadow growled angrily he wanted so badly to tear free and teleport away but he knew it would be pointless. He sighed and sat back down and closed his eyes, "I'll think of something…." he threw his head back and yelled in his rage, "I'LL GET OUT OF HERE!"

(O^O)

Days went by, long and arduous. Claire and Sari were given a safe house, far in the forest. It wasn't big in the slightest but it was safe.

Claire had finished putting dishes away when someone knocked on the door. She drew out her gun slowly and walked over to the door and peered slowly through the crack in the door. Relieved to see Espio and Mighty she backed away from the door, "Come on in."

The opening of the door brought in a cold chill coming through, Espio shook his coat trying to get off the early November flurries, "I thought Sari might want company, speaking of which is she ok?''

Claire sighed sadly, "Not really," gesturing to Espio, she pointed to the one window in the whole house, which was a 2in by 2in window at Claire's eye view. Sari was standing on a chair looking through the window, her eyes focused and unblinking, "She does that for hours, waiting to see Shadow, I think she's beginning to loose hope….but she'll be happy to see Mighty."

Immediately ears perked up and she turned her head to their direction, "Mighty?" seeing him she slid off the chair and ran over, hugging him tightly. Immediately they ran to the one bedroom and closed the door behind them. Espio sighed slightly, "It's like we're not even here."

"Anything to keep Saris' mind off her father, she's getting worried….."Claire looked over at the window, "And so do I…."

"Don't worry, Shadow will be back…" he looked over at her again, "Why don't you go lay down, I can watch things for now. You look ready to drop."

Normally she would argue but the truth was, she really was tired. Even though she tried to sleep at night, she would lay down and just stare at her watch communicator, waiting for it to ring and hear Shadows voice, saying he was ok ….Claire walked over to the couch and sat down, leaning back on the hard plastic she turned on the TV, the Price is Right was on in the background, crossed her arms and leaned her head against the couch, she slowly began to doze off….

(O^O)

Fintivous wrapped his cloak around himself tightly, the cold bitter air disagreed with his warm fur. It also didn't' help that the trees blocked the little heat he would of gotten from the sun. But this would be worth it. The day had finally come, the thought of what was to come made him excited and sent shivers down his frostbitten coat. All he had to do now was wait….

He felt a cold wind run down his back, which brought a smile to his face, "Hello Tracker."

"Doctor, I have stolen the information, I now know where the child and wolf girl are hiding."

One thing about hiring Fallen Ninja's was that they could get the job done, "Thank you, my friend, do you have information on the defense/?"

"The G.U.N is currently covering the search for Shadow, but according to Mephiles, he's long gone by now. And the Freedom Fighters are protecting the lovely family up in the mountains. Since I have a general direction I should be able to track them."

"How long will it take you to find them?"

"An hour and s half."

"You have 20 minutes." Despite the length of time it had taken to get to this moment (and chapters), the fact he could taste victory made him a little impatient, "Bring them to me, just the Chaos Child. Kill the rest."

The Trackers face slowly slid into a malicious grin, "That's what I like so much about working for you... You don't stress the small details." he gave the white echidna a two fingered salute before fading into a unobscured invisibility; his former clans prized technique. It allowed him to slip through the forest without even a tremble of the razor thin leaves but also fast enough he was able to cover the 2 miles between Fintivous location and the safe house within moments. As soon as the house came into view he slid to a hat, ducking behind a bush and lying on the cold earth. It was easy to see why this was a safe house (which had literally been built into the mountain to prevent a passerby from seeing them, but he could also see that a blanket of leaves obscured a window. All of this would have been successful to hide from assailants; except from a trained assassin. He squinted his good eye hard, slowly the silhouette of shadows against the curtain; he could see the shapes off a chameleon by a fridge, rummaging through it. At a table he could see an armadillo child and a hedgehog child sitting at the table (probably to get food); he could also see a young woman lying on the couch asleep. He felt another smile grow on his face, this was too easy. He slowly twisted the silencer onto the gun. 3 shots. That's all he needed. But he needed to work fast just in case either of the warriors noticed him. He pressed his fingers against the cold trees by the trunks with his legs in position.

3.….

2.…

1!

The Tracker threw himself out of the darkness and launched himself at the house. He slammed through the window and took aim setting off three rapid fires immediately. At first the adrenaline took over and he was blinded, but then he noticed the bullets had gone right through the 3 "victims' That's when he noticed the images wavering and disappearing, he saw that the TV behind him had been covered and tilted to reflect off of a mirror on the floor , giving the images they were there. That means he had just walked into a-

He heard the gun cock right next to his head, the image of Claire right by him, a shotgun aimed right at his temple, "Looking for someone, bub?"

Tracker sighed, a trap.

(O^O)

Espio looked down at the two children, who held his neck with a vice-like grip. The three of them hurrying through the dense forest and to get as far from the hideout as possible. But he was careful to move at a manageable pace for Mighty and Sari (who kept looking back) He didn't know what was going on at the hideout but he was worried about Claire, hopefully everything had gone as planned…..

A few minutes earlier

Espio pulled a kettle out of the cupboard. The soft sounds of Claire breathing and the sound of Mighty and Sari playing in her room were somewhat comforting. He knew the small family had been put under stress lately; he wanted to do what he could to relieve the stress off of them. Even if it was something as simple as allowing Claire a few moments of stress free moments...

Suddenly Claire's eyes shot open, and with a spring of a mattress leapt off the couch. She paused for a moment, her ears twitching towards the window before running over to Espio, making him leap back," Claire what-"

But the wolf eared girl seemed to ignore him, grabbing the tea out of his hands and throwing it in the sink, before grabbing a ham out of the fridge and throwing it into the over, "Go turn on the TV, there's a home video in the cabinet. Set it up and I'll be there in a moment"

"Do you mind telling me what's going on first?" Espio was a patient Chameleon but now he was irritated (that tea going to waste…) he ran over to the TV and looking through the cabinets, there was lone DVD in there marked "Reminder to Kill Sonic" (written in Shadow's handwriting) he put the DVD in the player before turning on the TV. HE looked back and was alarmed to see Claire in her Marine gear (wondering how she could of done that so fast), "Claire-"

But she shoved right past him, pieces of aluminum in her hands, she wrapped it around the length of the screen, the picture bounced off the walls of the reflection and on the room around them, creating a strange ghost like appearance of children and adults in the room, it was only then she turned to face him "The wire I set up was tripped, someone is heading this way at a rapid pace. I can hear the beacon in morose code."

"I can't hear-"

"That's because it's at its lowest reading possible, only wolf ears can pick it up." She quickly filled her shotgun with several rounds, "They're going to be here any moment, go get the children."

The feeling of peace had left Espio as quickly as it had come. He hurried over to the bedroom door and knocked, "Kids get your shoes on and hurry out." Then he ran back over to the window, ninja stars in either hand, "What's the plan?" he watched her out of the corner of his eye, she crouched down by the door, away from the window and shot gun in her hands, "I'm going to stay here and make sure that he gets captured, you go with the children and hurry to Angel Island, that's the meeting point we agreed upon if anyone ever attacked us."

The purple ninja (two words I never thought I would put together) hesitated, he didn't like this plan. It wasn't in the Ninja way to run from battle, or leave anyone behind. But he also knew he'd have a better chance convincing a rock to give him milk then to sway Claire. He saw the children walk out, faces confused. Sari's eyes filled with alarm at the sight of guns and stars, "Mommy? What's-"

Espio hurried over, taking them both by the hands, "We have to go but I promise she'll be o-"But the minutes the words left his lips, tears poured out of Sari's eyes. She yanked out of Espio's hand with surprising strength and ran back over to Claire, throwing her arms around her neck, "No No NO! I'm not leaving again! You promised Daddy would come back, but he never did, I can't loose you too! Please Mommy, don't make me leave!"

Claire's face , which had been in a stubborn stature, faded into a sad smile, her arm wrapping around the child gently, "I'm sorry angel, but you need to get somewhere safe. It's just a precaution." But that was obviously a lie to sooth the traumatized child. Sari drew her head out of her shoulder and grabbed Claire's arm (knowing better than the hand), "Then…then run with us! That way you'd be safe too!"

"I can't, I'm sorry. Right now you need to listen to Espio, and I'll be there to join you. A Marines' Promise."

Sari sniffed, the tears having already stopped, at first she squeezed Claire's arm even tighter before letting go, "Be careful Mommy…you promised….." with that she walked back over to Espio. He couldn't blame Sari for being so upset; this was the second house she had to evacuate over a course of 2 days. It would be hard on anyone. But he couldn't' take the time to dwell, he bent over and used his arms to scoop up the two children. The two clung to him tightly. Claire got back up and the two hurried to the back wall of the house, nothing but a rug decorated the entire hall. Claire pulled the cloth aside and revealed a small crack in the floor. She put her fingers in and pulled up to reveal a hole before looking back up, "This will take out to the other side of the mountain, and remember. Hurry to

Angel Island, when the coast is clear I'll come for you. Nodding, Espio made sure they were secure before sliding down into the hole, the difference in temperatures (the main house being warm and the tunnel being icy cold) made his bones ache. He turned back to look at her "You better keep that promise, Shadow would kill me if anything would happen to you."

The Marine nodded, she gave Sari a small kiss on the head before closing the lid over his head and leaving them into darkness.

(O^O)

Espio sighed sadly; all they could do now is pray for her….and Shadow.

(O^O)

Claire wasn't normally a person, who'd deal with interrogation, but this was an exception; watching Tracker squirmed, restrained, in a chair. The normally proud and smirky ninja (or ex ninja, she really didn't know) had a swollen face full of cuts and bruises, his clothes splattered with his own blood. His arms bound painfully behind his back by a skillet. Claire rubbed her fist against her hip to get the excess Tracker blood off before becoming serious once again," G.U.N guards are going to be here soon, to take you to jail. That doesn't give me a lot of time to get the answers." she sheathed her black gun and walked on over, there was no guarantee Sari was safe yet. "So you're going to tell me right now, where. Is. Shadow?"

But the Trackers face, cracking from dried blood, turned his head away, "Don't you know? He said he couldn't handle a burdensome little girl and a weak-minded coward-"

Claire brought her foot up and knocked the chair back a few inches with her heavy combat boots, "You obviously don't know Shadow. You might be weak, but he is not." she brought her foot back up and kicked the chair, "Try again.'

"Oh, is this a game? I do so enjoy games." his good eye narrowed, not losing its evil gleam, "What do I get if I win? How about a lock of your hair? To keep me company while I rot in jail?"

"How about you keep feeling in your legs and answer my questions?"

A cruel laugh filled the air, unhindered by his swollen and cracked lips; he turned to look at her again, "Why must you be so cruel? After all I am but a simple messenger, errand by his ….'Conductor', surely you must understand that? We are but tools in a grandeur scheme". Black eyes bearing at her, lacking any emotion that would indicate sentimentality. For this pathetic attempt at 'empathy' Claire could only growl but did her best to keep her anger level. but couldn't stop the growl from escaping her lips, she walked forward slowly, taking the knife out of her seat and gripping the wooden back of Trackers chair she leaned forward slowly, "You're testing my patience, worm. I have absolutely no problem bring you complete blindness."

"Oh I'm sure of that, comrade, but why are you so worried about Shadow? Is it not the sweet child and her friends you should worry about? After all, they're all alone." His eyes grew even darker as he watched her, but no lie in his words, "You really think I'm the only one Fintivous sent? You forget all about Mephiles, and his dozens of over robots he stole from Eggman. Are you really so cold to leave them to their death?"

Claire's heart stopped for a moment, taking in what The Tracker had said carefully. How could she of been so stupid? Of course Mephiles would be out there too! Maybe Fintivous would make a appearance himself, but what happed to Eggman? (then again, who cared?). her eyes bore into The Trackers, searching for a sign of a lie. Anything to indicate dishonesty but, as always, his eyes were level, his berating (despite the injuries) had not faltered his breathing at all…..

"Lance Corporal?"

The wolf eared girl blinked, turning her head she saw a group of G.U.N soldiers standing there, one of whom was Drake ,the marine who had been part of her unit when she rescued Shadow the first time (man her boyfriend was a damsel). Claire looked at the G.U.N guards and Marines before looking back at the Tracker; slowly she pulled herself away, sheathing her knife and away, past the guards. When she came to Drake she paused for a moment, then whispered, "Watch him carefully, he has some tricks up his sleeves and I suspect he's not alone. I have something I need to do…"

Drake nodded, "Watch your six."

Claire gave a blink then started to walk off again. In the distance she could hear the faint sound of thunder to indicate a impending storm. Not two seconds later the unmistaken able sound of laughter burst out. Turning around she saw the Tracker looking straight at her, face once again twisted into a cruel smile, then called after her, "Comrade, I would hurry to find Shadow if I were you, I highly doubt a downpour is very good for his health right now…."

Once again Claire felt her heart skip a beat. She didn't' know whether to slug him or stab him (she was still mad at him after all). Without a moments hesitation she burst out in a flat out run. This couldn't wait, she quickly pulled out her phone and set it to speed dial, immediately the voice of Mobius's Hero her came on headset, "Hero of Mobius's Home, Sonic speaking."

"Sonic it's Claire, I need you to listen carefully…"

(O^O)

Espio's ear-hole (or whatever he hears out of )twitch at the impeding thunder. He paused for a moment then looked at the sky worriedly, just as he thought, the sky was black with gray with stored up energy. How did he not see this? He looked around, he was a few miles from Angel Island but he didn't' want to get lost. Espio gave his surroundings a small glance before spotting a small opening in the rocks, he walked over and looked in, it was big enough and warm for the small children. So he carefully set down Mighty and Sari, who looked at him confused, "I'll be right back kids, I just need to check on the route." he gave them a warm smile., no point in worrying them. He gave them both a comforting smile before looking over his shoulder, it wasn't just the storm that was driving him to hide the children. His instincts were aflame with suspicion, and if his mother had taught him anything about instincts, it was never to ignore them. He stood up but before he started off, he looked at Mighty and Sari one more time. The two looked cold and tired. He put a hand on Mighty's head, a attempt at comfort, if I don't comeback in 10 minutes, go on towards Angel Island. Do NOT come looking for me. Just follow the sun." he looked at them both to make sure they understood before turning and setting off in the direction they had just come. Without the burden of the children he was able to reach top speeds easily, his body becoming translucent. You could barely hear the sound of his breathing let alone footfalls. After a while he slid to a stop, listening carefully, once again there was no notice, where were the animals? No birds, all there was was thunder….something wasn't right. He closed his eyes and concentrated, if he focused solely on hearing then maybe he could get something….the only sound that reached his ears was the omnipresent (look at me with me fancy words) storm.

Suddenly a chill started running up his skin at a unnatural pace, eyes shooting open he saw darkness running up her chest. Quickly he leapt away, pulling stars out of his glove and lunging them at the shapes. But despite the explosions they had no impact at their rush. He cursed himself for being so stupid, ad childish, he grabbed a outstretched branch and hung there, the least he could keep himself alive-

Something slammed into the back of his head with such power that he heard a giant crack and painful thud came from the back of his head, colors flashed infront of his eyes as he found himself on the forest floor amongst the leaves, movement becoming painful as he pondered what happened, the inability to move and the pain brought anger to his lips at himself and the attacker, "WHOSE THERE?" he demanded loudly.

" How rude, is this how you greet superiors?" came a cold voice, with a hint of humor.

Shadow could hear footsteps walking towards his direction, painfully he moved his neck up, straining to see the attacker. At first he could only see the faint outline of a hedgehog, coming closer he could see the familiar hair and dark presence, " shadow!" he asked, slightly in shock

But he was responded with a cruel laugh, "Its so funny how I get mistaken for him all the time."

It was true, even though he looked like Shadow, they were different. This hedgehog looked more like a faded Shadow, with no red but dark gray streaks, and a missing mouth (which raised the question how he was talking). But he now knew who it was, 'Mephiles."

"There you go." his dark eyes gleamed, " the better Shadow," he walked around the paralyzed chameleon with the look of a sadistic hyena, "Now, I've been following you for sometime now, at least your trail. And I know you had two children with you, now do you mind telling me where they are?"

Espio snarled, "No, how about you put a star in my hand so I can shove it down your THROAT!'" He knew this threat was empty, but it was the only way to vent out his anger, which lead to the copy of Shadow to laugh at him. Espio struggled with his body, but he could only move the very tips of his fingers. He had to pray it was only temporary. Suddenly coldness started to crawl up his body, indicating that the shadows where now incasing him. Slowly he felt his body start to rise off the floor ,, Espio fought with his fingertips as hard as he could but couldn't stop the ascent as he slowly reached the tree line. He could hear Mephiles voice rise up, "Now, I am going to go get a sweet child, so I need you to do me a favor and die." suddenly the darkness yanked down on him with force and, before he hit the floor, he could hear the cruel laugher of Mephiles ringing out.

Then nothing.

(O^O)

Sonic sped through the valley, leaving a line of dust in his wake, the Freedom Fighters were on the roam and on the patrol. Since his phone call from Claire, they had to take action if what she said was true, and she had a pretty good track record for that. He thought back to their conversation….

"Sonic it's Claire, I need you to listen carefully…"

Sonic nodded, he looked over to where Sally was standing and waved his hand, indicating it was important. His wife walked over and sat down, watching him on the phone, Sonic took out a notepad

"I just caught the Tracker trying to take Sari, we're fine, Espio is running with them. But I know this isn't' over, I have a feeling that Fintivous is taking all the stops out today. So we're going to need back up. "

"Ok," he wrote it down and showed to Sally, who nodded in understanding

"That's not all, I think I might know where Shadow is."

"how?"

"The Tracker kind of hinted, I think he might be in a storm drain, but I don't know which one. Can you go look?"

"Yeah sure. " at first he wondered why she was asking him, and not going herself. But then he realized that This was probably hard for Claire, she probably wanted to go herself so badly but knew she wouldn't get to them all, "what are you going to do?"

"I need to go and try to catch up with Espio, I need to see if they're all ok.'

"Ok fine. Just be careful alright?"

"You too, this is going to be a hard day"

Sonic hung up, looking at the phone for a moment before looking over at Sally,, "Summon the Freedom Fighters, we need to get into action."

Sonic sighed, he could only hope that Shadow stayed alive enough before the storm hit, "Hang in there Shadow….." he whispered, with a kick of his foot his he set off into a new level of speed. THE storm was coming in fast.

"hang in there buddy."

(O^O)

Sari peered down out of the cave carefully, just wanting to see Espio's foot coming, but there was noting but trees. Affected by the cold wind she pulled her heavy sweater tighter around herself before standing back up. The cramped space barely having room for her and Mighty, who also shook uncontrollably with cold. But Mighty kept a warm smile on his face, to be supportive, "he'll be back soon, Espio always comes back."

Sari sighed, closing her eyes, "My Daddy always comes back,…..Mommy always comes back…..but…." tears started to fill her eyes, "But-but they didn't…..they didn't come back…..because I'm a freak…..because I don't have a a belly button, or a childhood….." Sari buried her face in hr hands crying softly. She was so tired…..she felt Mighty put his arms around her shoulders, they didn't have words, but they could be there for each other, for a moment Sari felt safe. Then Mighty spoke, "I lost my mommy and daddy too, but they wont come back. Never will, But I have a new family now and I know I'll never be alone…"

Sari raised her head, wiping her eyes then looked at him, she saw his words were true, the words of her best friend, she bowed her head for a moment, "can….can I ask you something?"

"Yeah what is it?"

"Mommy always told me that if I was scared, that I needed to pray….is it ok if we do that/"

"Of course."

Sari smiled sadly, she took Mighty's hand, and bowed her head, out of the corner of her eyes she could see Mighty doing the same. And she started to pray, "God, please help us, bring my mommy and daddy and Espio back home soon, I miss them a lot and I hope they're warm right …." she concentrated on the image of her father, brave, handsome and strong. She missed him so much, right now she just wanted to see his face, to hug him and make sure he was alright….slowly her body started to tingle, like it did in her training sessions. Opening her eyes, the world around her started to bleed into another one. Fear struck her heart but she felt like she was still with Mighty by the grip of his hand. She saw stone walls start to rise around her leaving only a opening, in front of her she could see the shape of her father, weak and tired. Shock filled her as she dared to hope, speaking out quietly,

"Daddy?"

(O^O)

Shadow looked up at the sky as the rumbling thunder shook through the storm drain. All he could do to indicate his displeasure was a twitch of his ear. 2 days of energy draining left him weak and tired. It took all his will power to keep his eyelids open, he knew if he fell asleep then that was it. But right now, that was his situation. He felt his stomach growl from lack of food. Though technically he didn't need I but he WANTED it. He had learned not to be greedy, but all he had right now was greed. He wanted to get out of this hell hole, he wanted to tear Mephiles to pieces, to destroy all of his enemies, he wanted to run free, he wanted to feel powerful, he wanted Claire-

He paused for a moment, this was true. He did want Claire. More then all of those selfish desires destructive desires, he wanted to see Claire and Sari. His love and his daughter. TO hold them close and never let go. To whisper how much he loved each of them…but at this rate he'd never see either of them again…. Not if this storm filled up this drain with water and drowned him. He closed his eyes, at least he could sleep all he wanted now….

"daddy?" came the sweet voice of his child. But he ignored it, now he was loosing his mind….it was a even worse thought to think that Sari was trapped too….

"Daddy its me! Please look!"

But Shadow turned his head away from the voice, it did seem so realistic. Suddenly light shone through his eyelids, confused he opened his eyes and saw the faint outline of a child infront of him. Glowing with energy with faint details but there was no mistaking it, he opened his mouth and used his crusty vocal chords in hope, "Sari?"

The apparitions eyes lit up, "daddy! Daddy it is you!" the girl flung herself at him in exaltation, Shadow opened his arms to catch her but there was no physical contact. Sari looked at him confused, "Daddy? Why can't I touch you?"

Shadow blinked, smiling weakly, "Its not your fault….you're just a image…". this must have been a power Sari just discovered, he felt pride she discovered this herself, "But I'm glad to see you're safe…."

The apparition of her daughter grew distraught, "That's just it! I'm not!"

That was unsettling," what do you mean?" he felt energy coming from his anxiety, "Aren't you with your mother?"

"I was, but she made me run with Espio and Mighty while she went to fight something, and then Espio left me and Mighty to run up ahead but he hasn't comeback yet, I was praying when this happened. I'm really scared Daddy!"

Shadow felt his eyes become clear, his blood rushing through, "How long has it been since Espio left?"

"I don't know, 20 minutes….."

"Listen to me very carefully, I need you and Mighty to go on, did he tell you to go somewhere?"

"Yeah, Angel Island, we're supposed to meet Mommy there."

"Ok, go ahead and go there, I'll get there as soon as I can. Right now you need to go back to Mighty and take care of each other ok?"

The tiny girl nodded, pausing for a moment, 'I miss you Daddy, Mommy does too. She really does."

The dark hedgehog smiled softly, reaching out, he gently stroked the air of her face with his fingertips," I miss you two also. Now go, protect yourselves."

Sari nodded, the little apparition disappearing into the darkness. Leaving Shadow alone once again. He heard the thunder rumble once again, but this time he smirked. His daughter and his girlfriend (that's right he said it) needed him. Slowly and with painful joints he hoisted himself forward onto his knees, holding his hands infront of him. No amount of chains or drugs were going to keep him any longer. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate

"Chaos Control."

(O^O)

Sari opened her eyes just as Mighty put his hand over her mouth. Sari blinked in shock trying to speak when she suddenly realized why he had done that. The very faint sound of footsteps caught her sensitive ears. Moving slowly through the fallen leaves, looking over at Mighty he saw she was wanting to see if they were friendly. Sari slowly felt for energy, maybe she could feel who it was. After all everyone had a unique energy source...she could feel the normal energy of Mighty beside her and pushed out. She caught the "scent" of a man, it confused her to feel her fathers energy. She had just talked to him as a prisoner after all, but it didn't' FEEL like him, it was cold and dark….but very familiar. Sari's eyes widen with shock when she realized where she remembered it. She had felt the very same thing when the mean hedgehog had broke into her room.

Mephiles.

Sari's' hand shot out and went over Mighty's' mouth too. Looking over she quietly begged him to stay quiet. The armadillo nodded in understanding before looking at the small opening of the cave. As the footsteps came closer they squeezed into the darkness as hard as they could, they needed to stay hidden, fight the "flee' responses that now threatened them. Sari felt her heart rate start to rise as the footsteps came into view just inches from them. He obviously hadn't noticed the opening yet, which Sari was grateful for. Slowly Sari felt her breath becoming inhibited, strained and pained. Her inner panic making her lungs go into Asthma attack. Sari squeezed her eyes shut, pleading with her body, 'Not now not now.' she heard the footsteps slowly started to turn in their direction and gripped Mighty's' hand tightly, this couldn't' be happening. Not now. She prayed desperately, 'please go away, please go away'. After what seemed to be a eternity she heart the footsteps scrape in a turn and start to walk away, Sari finally opened her eyes to see the monster away. But she didn't' always herself to relax, she waited, in silence for what seemed to be a eternity before sightedness came over her and she collapsed on her hands and knees coughing wildly. Mighty quickly knelt next to her, "Inhaler! Inhaler!"

Sari nodded, reaching into her sweater she took out her inhaler and held the nozzle to her lips, injecting her lungs with much needed medicine and oxygen sweeping through her lungs. Her sightedness when away and she was able to stand up, holding onto the walls for support, she knelt back down and crawled back out into the sunlight, all signs of Mephiles had disappeared, but she knew they had to get going. She looked back to see Mighty crawling out too, "Lets hurry, before he comes back."

Mighty nodded, reaching forward the two brave children held hands and started to hurry. They were on their own.

(O^O)

Claire had finally set off into a pace that matched her On her bike(she needed to conserve energy). After hanging up with Sonic, she had done a sweep for Espio's trail. It took a while before she caught glimpse of the broken twigs. The only good thing was that if finding Espio's trail had given HER this much trouble, then it would do the same for the others looking. At least she hoped. She revved up the engine before soaring up ahead. Suddenly something caught her eye into the bushes. Pulling the brakes, the motorcycle squealed to a halt, Claire got off and walked towards the bushes, she couldn't be sure but she thought it had been something ….purple….Claire took a hold of the bushes and started to pull the branches apart caching a familiar glimpse of a white hand with metal wristbands and a star holder. Panic shot through her, "Espio!" she quickly reached in and grabbed the hand, carefully pulling out the body of Espio. His state of torn clothes and bleeding wounds almost made her look away. Carefully she laid him down and knelt by him, shaking him carefully (not wanting to cause anymore injuries), "Espio? Espio?" she wiled him to wake up. After a few seconds, his eyelids trembled before opening weakly and looking up at her, eyes unfocused, "Cl-Claire…"

"Espio, what happened? Where are the children?"

"M-Mephiles…..the-the children are…..safe...heading for Angel Island….I hid…..hid them...be-be-because I sensed I was…being followed…..I came back….caught off guard by...by…by Mephiles….he…threw me…..I ….I can't…..move my body….."

Claire felt nauseous at these words, she wasn't a medic and didn't' know the extent of his wounds…she could only pray he wasn't permanently paralyzed. She put a hand to his forehead, "its going to be ok, I'm going to get you help."

"Oh my dear, but who's going to help you?" came the familiar overly creepy voice she remember. Spinning around she saw the persona of Mephiles standing just 5 feet from her. Claire reached for her gun, hand on hilt, "What the hell do you want?" she demanded

"Oh my, already this mad at me? What did I do this time?" he tusked sadly, "Why can't we just be friends Claire?"

"Because you're a coward and a monster."

"Ouch. I just came back to get some more information. I didn't expect to see your lovely self. I wanted to repay you for knocking me out on Dead Island." he once again tusked and looked at her with a devilish glare, "I was so disappointed when I couldn't find the children, but now I can take out my frustrations on you, beauty."

Claire felt a small sense of relief, so Mephiles couldn't find the children. Now they were safe for now. But she couldn't' deal with this guy, "Just try it!"

"Oh, you think I'M going to fight you?" he gave a curt laugh, "Stupid girl, I still have my mission. So I'm going to leave you in the hands of my…new friend. I'm sure you'll remember him.' Mephiles waved infront of him. A pool of darkness ran from his hand, spreading out over the grass and leaves. Claire grabbed Espio and stepped away jumping back on the bike with Espio infront of her and riding away, the pool chasing them. When the pool did stop, something started to emerge from it, rising high into the sky it started to form arms and legs, bulky and robotic. The color set in and Claire, horrified, realized what it was.

The Chaos Killer was back.

Mephiles seemed to get pleasure from her face, "I love the look of despair on a woman's face so early in the morning. I'd love to stay and chat but I have a special little girl to catch, so long. Claire Vancouver." he smirked ," Semper Fi." his words were dripping with sarcasm and insult. He disappeared into nothing. Leaving Claire to glare, she carefully set Espio back on the ground and took out her gun. Facing the Chaos Killer face to…foot but in a standoff.

This wasn't going to be easy

I'm sorry the layout is so bad, it looks better in document form. But if you read it I hope you enjoyed it! Part 2 is coming up soon!


	22. The Storm part 2

Claire almost openly swore at this inconvenience. Well, it was more that. This is was just dam annoying.

First Shadow disappears and she is forced to go into hiding with his daughter, Sari. Then the safe house is attacked, then she finds out the children (Mighty and Sari) are no longer with Espio who is now suffering from paralysis (of which might be permanent). And now Mephilez was kind enough to drop off this huge robotic monstrosity to deal with and was going after the children.

Fan-Freakign-Tastic.

While supporting Espio with his arm over her neck, she was careful not to move as the soldier portion of her mind set to work scanning the newly furnished "Chaos Killer"

It was smaller than last time, it had 3 triangular arranged eyes rather than the Cyclops it had been before. But all this meant was that it was faster (which had been their only advantage last time) but she sure as hell wasn't going to give up. She carefully lowered Espio to the ground, making sure he was comfortable, "I'll be back.'

"You should forget me, I would only weigh you down, and it's the only way you can catch up with the children in time."

Claire smirked slightly, turning to look at him, "Don't you know anything about Marines?"

"Well, I know the battles-"

"Marines are as stubborn as hell, and they definitely don't' leave one of their own behind." Without waiting for further argument she stood and turned away, "I'll take care of this monstrosity and save the children, Leave it to me." With that she pulled her gun from her motor cycle and started to walked towards the Chaos Killer.

Time for War.

Drake sat back in the back of the helicopter, his automatic rifle resting against his chest, if he had had anything screamed not him at Mobian Parris Island, it was to never drop your gun. Especially now, what with the impending storm, the chaos with Lance Corporal Vancouver, and the smug black chameleon situated in front of him.

Normally he didn't have a problem with Mobians (he being of Genetic Disruption) but the "Tracker's" reputation and light red eyes were enough to make this bloodied soldier squirm. Not that he'd ever show it. But he had heard things about this traitor from the ninja tribe, they had a file on him back at the base, he wondered what he did to be exiled from his tribe, anything from robbery to murder….did this chameleon have any pride?"

Suddenly the helicopter swerved to the right with a 90 degree angle, sending the chameleon flying towards the opening. And (judging by the shock on the chameleons face) it was not of his doing. Drake threw himself forward and grabbed the ninja by the foot, the extra weight drug him forward and out the hangar, but a force behind him grabbed his foot also. So all he could see was jungle and the dark clouds, the Tracker dangling from his foot. Drake saw a tree falling just by them, which made him almost choke on the gunk gathering up in his throat, 'Where did that come from!' he felt someone grab his safety rope (luckily he had latched in before taking off) and he was drug inside by his squad followed by the Tracker. Drake scrambled to hook off his harness and ran past his concerned friends to the front, poking his in the pilots nest, through the glass he could see a swarm of dust in the forest, it took a sec to realize it wasn't a natural dust storm… he poked the pilot in the head and pointed over, "Head over there!"

"why-"

"Just do it!"

Not wanting to get snapped by the leader the 2nd pilot turned the copter around, flying back towards the dust. If Drake had learned anything from being on the same team as Claire it was that where ever there was trouble, to better find it before it finds you.

Despite the dust, the copter managed to down low and hover slightly, not want to get too much. Drake held his gun close as they peered, "what now-"

Suddenly something erupted out of the dust in a mass of robotics, barely giving the pilots time to hover out of the way. Skidding to the ground with accurate, if shaky precision, Drake once again fell to the ground, but gripped the back of the pilot's seat enough to see the robot that had crashed their rushed landing, he had seen a file on it before (man he hated filing duty….all for just punching out a protestor...). It was the Chaos Killer, a creation of Dr. Eggman that he thought had been destroyed by Shadow, but clearly it was unmoving.

The robot slowly rose up on its arms, there were clear signs of battle on its dented, torn body, 2 of its three eyes had been torn out and it looked like someone and reached into its chest and started tearing stuff out. Slowly the robot turned its one good eye to them, its black eyes slowly turning red as it began to power up.

Knowing none of his weapons would work at this moment, he grabbed threw himself in front of the pilots-

Suddenly there was a flash of black and white and the helicopter went sliding back out of range, this sent Drake flying back again, but this time he was back on his feet (which the Tracker chained up to the teeth) he ran outside, the Marines following in a rush with guns raised. What had done so much-?

With a roar that rivaled grinding metal, the robot went flying back into the dust. And there stood the lone fighter of the monster. Arms bloodied and hair singed, it was the legendary soldier herself.

Claire Vancouver.

With a moment to spare she glanced back over at Drake, and yelled, 'what the hell are you doing here?"

"We were hit by a tree, what are YOU doing?"

"What does it look like! Having a picnic?" she glanced over to make sure the robot was still at bay before looking back, "Is the Tracker secure?"

"Yes."

"Then go over to the trees, we have a casualty, he's alive but he needs medical attention!" without another word she hurried back into the dust and out of sight. Drake sighed irritated, but she was superior officer, he yell dot his man," You heard the lady!" with that they hurried into the forest, glancing around with haste. While looking through a bush he saw purple hidden amongst the leaves. Kneeling down he recognized the chameleon known as Espio (friend of Sonic). His normally purple skin was dabbled in green (in a instinctive attempt to hide himself) at first Drake dint see what was wrong, then he noticed that , other then looking at him, Espio had not moved at all. He yelled over, "We need a medic!"

The corpsman hurried over and knelt down, this left Drake time to look back over at the diminishing dust, he could see the robot again, this time one of its legs was torn off and was leaking acid oil onto the destroyed forest floor. Claire was there too, despite still standing, he was wondering how much longer it would take. He watched Claire's smile smirk slightly, as she called up to the robot, "You finished yet? At this rate you'll be scrap heap."

But the robot was not designed for surrender (even if it was Drake was sure Eggman would dismantle it anyway) and ran at the wolf eared girl again. He fought the urge to cry out; he had to trust his friend.

There was a blink and the terrible sound and tearing metal, Claire had somehow landed behind the robot while tearing it in half with barely a second. When the robot twitched again, Claire leapt up and shot her first through its chest, sending acid oil sprouting up, and tore out a small mechanical device, which left the robot lifeless. She tossed it to the side before running back up to him, "Where's Espio?"

Barely able to comprehend what had happened, he pointed in the other direction, where Espio had been loaded into a transport. With another flash of movement Claire went past Drake and knelt by the chameleon. Drake saw empathy in Claire's eyes as she took her friends hand, "you ok?'

Espio smiled, "I will be…but please be careful….Mephilez is far more dangerous than he was before…."

The wolf eared girl simply smiled, "I will be." And stood away, signaling for them to load him. She then looked back over at Drake, "do you have any extra ammo?'

Drake, who had still been in shock, quickly felt around and pulled out his cartridge, "Uh here-'

With an abrupt, "thanks." Claire loaded her clip into her dusty gun, then looked back at him, "You better take good care of him. Or I'll put you on filing duty for the rest of your career, do you understand?"

Knowing there was no bigger fear he nodded,

There was a paused, "And take care of yourself Marine." With that she turned and pulled up her motorcycle. Drake shook himself out of shock and ran back over, "where are you going?"

"Sari and Mighty are still out there, I have to go after them."

Drake paused, he hated feeling this helpless. Then he reached into his pack and drew out a few extra grenades, "I always keep them on me."

Claire smiled and took them, "thanks Marine, take good care of your men." With that she revved up and drove away. Leaving Drake with a painful feeling in his stomach, somehow…with that look in her eyes…he had seen it before. While on missions he'd like to forget with men who never came back. Somehow…he thought…..she had accepted a terrible fate…..with nothing left to do, he simply whispered, "Semper Fi, wolf-ears." Then walked back over to his team.

Now was his return the favor.

(O^O)

Sonic gagged as the upturned leaves flew into his mouth, which he barely noticed compared to the millions of leaves whipping into him from the stormy winds. The storm might not of hit his home yet, but here far away it was strong as ever. Wiping his streaming eyes he opened his mouth again, "SHADOW!" he was running out of him, but he was so sure….then he heard it, at first he mistaken it for thunder, then he realized it was a voice just as strong. He ran towards, slowly it became clear

"..Chaos CONTROL!"

That was defiantly the sound of Shadow! He put more speed in his step s and hurried till he saw a storm drain, faint yellow energy fluttering out and around the bars, he slid forward in the mud and knelt down to peer in, past the pulsing energy stood the shape of the most emo person he knew, standing on weak legs, pulling against specialized handcuffs, and screaming at the top of his lungs, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

"Shadow!" realizing he couldn't hear him, Sonic reached behind him and grabbed the nearest rock he could find and threw it down,' "SHADOW!'

There was a cracking sound and a angry shout of pain," what the hell Sonic? Wait, Sonic!" the glowing hedgehog turned look up at him with a mixture of irritance and surprise

"Yeah it's me! What are you doing down there!"

"Mephilez captured me and locked me down here, these bonds prevent me from using my powers, so I've been summoning them. '

"Here, I'll come down and help-"

"Don't you dare stupid idiotic airheaded hedgehog!" (obviously his annoyance of Sonic had been building up in the past few days), "What ever is hindering my powers is also in the rocks, if you come down here then we're both doomed!"

"what do you expect me to do then?"

"Just wait there and stop talking Blue hedgehog!"

"Oh fine what ever Faker!" despite the fact the world around them was in shambles, this was pretty nice. But , judging from Shadow's anxiety, he knew that Sari was in danger too….so he just sat there, and waited listening to Shadow's chant."

"Chaos, Control!"

(O^O)

Sari panted heavily as she and Mighty hurried through the forest, they had been running for a while now and there seemed to be no end to this forest, but fear spurred them forward, it prevented her from succumbing to her asthma ridden lungs for from crying. She had to get them both to safety…

Finally the forest gave out and the welcoming sight of Angel Island that, despite the storm clouds surrounding the land and making the sun almost obsolete, it truly lived up to its name. Mighty pulled Sari forward, yelled, "Knuckles! Knuckles!"

After a split second the red echidna ran down from the Island Bridge, waving at them frantically, "Hurry up this way!"

Relief spurred through Sari, this was it, they would be safe-"

A eruption of dark energy surged over the ground, blocking off the children from Knuckles. In panic, Sari drug Mighty back away from it, already she could feel the energy of the man she feared the most.

The poison smelling gunk twisted and formed, at first it was the black mast of her father, but the colors faded to dark purple, crystalizing and spiking out in an evil way.

Mephilez eyes grinned darkly on the children, "My my my, you've caused a lot of trouble today haven't' you?" out of the darkness behind him slipped out another Mobian, one Sari had never seen before. This echidna was white furred with discolored eyes, wearing gold rings up and down his arms and in his dreadlocks, a black cloak covering his body as he glared down on them with a smile just as sinister as Mephilez, "So this is the child I've heard so much about," his teeth shown in sharp fangs, "the precious, little Chaos Child.."

Sari gripped Mighty's arm tightly, was this it?

A rock shot out from behind the new arrivals, Mighty grabbed Sari and threw them to the ground as it flew over them and into the forest, looking up he saw Knuckles pick up another rock, "You leave them alone! Pick on someone your own size!"

The white echidna turned to look at him, fixing his spectacles My ,my Guardian, it's been a while but you still haven't worked on that temper of yours."

"I heard that it keeps me unique." He set his foot back in firing position.

Out of the corner of her eyes, Sari saw Locke run up from the side, "This way."

Sari hurried to her feet and ran with Mighty in tow, running just alongside, Locke ran between them and the fight as they ran for the island there Spectre stood.

Mephilez appeared again, "You think I'd let you off so easily-"

Locke raised his hands, chaos energy instantly bounced off, 'keep back you filthy demon!" he threw his hands up as the energy bombarded the dark hedgehog. Spectre ran back over and grabbed both the children and ran back up the bridge.

A cry sent Spectre spinning in time to see Locke falling back, blood running down his front, which sent fear through Sari as Spectre cried out, "Grandson Locke!"

Mephilez simply stood there, wiping the blood off his claws on his pants, "What a senile old man, he will never know the power he had in his youth.' Slowly he turned his hand and looked at Spectre, "I supposed the same could be said for you, Guardian Spectre." He turned and raised his deformed claws, "I wonder, will you be my second Guardian kill today?"

Sari felt Spectre growl through his arm. Very gently he sat the 2 small children down and stood out in front of them. Sari wanted to reach out and grab Spectre's cloak, but she didn't want to distract him….Mighty once again grabbed her hand they ran back up the bridge, towards the hovering island. Sari did her best to ignore the shouts and grunts behind her, knowing all those people were suffering because of her made her want to give up. But she couldn't'….

There was a shout of pain behind them and Sari turned to see Spectre lying in the dirt, Mephilez claws were wrapped around his neck, their contradicting energy's bouncing off each other. Sari let go of Mighty's hand, she couldn't let anyone die, "UNCLE SPECTRE!" she started to run forward.

But Spectre saw her, "CHILD DON'T! GO NOW-!" then he was choked off and fell still. Mephilez stood back up, looking at with intense eyes, "no child." He said, in clear mocking of Spectre, "Come closer, so I can get a good look at you-"

A rush of engine filled the air, everyone seemed to ignore it except Sari, despite the fast approaching Mephilez and shouts of Mighty, that engine sounded so familiar. How many times had she ridden on her Mommy's motorcycle with the same sound in her ears?

The very sight of Claire on her motorcycle shot out of the jumble, shooting past Knuckles and Dr. Finitevus and slammed into the dark form the Mephilez, with a rush of events, Claire leapt off the Mephilez went falling off the cliff, motorcycle and all. Sari froze at first, unsure what had happened, but then she saw the form of her mother walking towards her and ran forward, hugging her mom around the knees tightly as she shook uncontrollably, 'm—mommy…' she felt her mother's arms wrap around her tightly in a embrace, she didn't care if her mother smelled like oil and blood, she was here…

Dark energy shot up from besides the cliff, Claire instantly grabbed Sari and put her by Mighty, standing in front of them both, but Sari didn't understand, what was going on, then Mephilez floated up slowly, his eyes, which had been full of joke and mockery now held nothing but cold anger, "Celebrating too soon, aren't you girl?"

Sari felt Claire gently push them back, drawing out a gun, "you're right, I should wait till I cut your head off to celebrate."

Mephilez eyes twitched as though amused, "don't forget, even though you have Genetic Disruption you are still merely human. A tired human nonetheless, I should have stayed behind to kill you myself."

"Are you going to stop with the banter, or are you going to fight?"

Without any more words, the two launched themselves at each other. Mephilez aimed for her but Claire slid down, and shot back up, shooting Mephilez right in the face, but it quickly formed back. And sent him sliding forward, but Claire twisted and kicked Mephilez right in the throat, which gained her some ground, but she wouldn't let him go so easily. She ran forward again and grabbed two grenades from her belt, throwing them to either side of him so the blast engulfed him. Mephilez reformed his hand and leapt forward, shooting dark energy at her.

Claire, despite all her speed, fell prey to one in her arm, but she simply threw It aside, she ran forward again and slid under him, twisting her legs to trip him and send him, falling before twisting his arms up his back. Mephilez faded again and appeared right behind his back. At first he did nothing, he turned to look at him with a dark grin and said, "What? That's all?"

At first her mother looked confused, and then Sari noticed the cloud of dark energy forming just above her and shouted, "MOMMY!'

Claire looked up in time to see the cloud of dark energy but was too late. The energy suddenly started to rain down with the intensity of bullets, shards of energy shooting through Claire's already fragile. She quickly rolled off of Mephilez but the enrgy suddenly twisted again and started to engulf her in flmes, licking and spitting. Sari felt all the anguish, the pain of watching all the ones you love falling around you. She squeezed her eyes shut, and screaemed at the top of her lungs, " DADDY!"

At the moment it felt like a rush of energy began to surround them, twisting and forming. The air turning gold and a intense pressure in the air. Mephilez, while continuing his firey assault and turned to the middle of the island, (even Mephilez and Knuckels stopped ot watch), his eyes in disbelief, "It can't be." Hten came the cry, whose voice Sari had been longing to hear for days now, it was the one that always toldher how speiceal she was…..and to neer give up….

"CHAOS…..CONTROL!"

The gold light engulfed the ialdn and two shapes began to form, much like before, but this time. There were two and , in a split second, they disappeared, there was a blue flash and Mephilez went flying back and the flames disappeared. There Shadow was kneeling next to Claire, who (despite several burns)was ok and very shocked, but it settled, "About dam time Shadow."

But before Shadow could say anyting, Sari felt the emotion take over, tears pouring out fo her eyes she ran across the battlefirled, her weary and thing father held his arms out and allowed her to jump intothem, her tiny arms wrapping around his kneck as tightly as possible. Too scared to believe it was real, but the familiar smell, the familiar arms, it was him, "Daddy!" she felt his arms slowly encase her, his shaky hand running oer her hair, "its ok Sari, you're safe now…" his voce was raspy but it held relief that Sari had never head before, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him kiss Calire on the cheek, resting his forhead against her shoulder, 'I'm sorry it took so long…"

But her face, as forgiving as ever wrapped a arm around them both, 'Its fien…'

But, of course, Sonic yelled back over, 'Hey guys! Mephilez isnt' dead yet! We need to hurry!"

Sari gripped Shaodw even tighter but he gently set her down, but her figners latched onto his hand as thightly as she could, shaking hner head, "No more fighting! Ask him to leave! To go away!" she wanted ti to end, it wasn't fair…. But she saw the kidn smile on Shadow's face, 'I'm sorry, we'll be done very soon I promise….' He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the forhead gently, "I'll be right back, stay with Mighty.' He stood up slowly, the fatherly persona faded into a emotionless mask, atleast, his face was, but his eyes told the whole story. His anger, his suffering, his longing….and his thirst for revenge. Cliare patted Sari on the head really quickly before walking after Shadow, Sonic joined too.

Mephilez stood up again, his eyes irritated, but he made them fade into a mocking mask, "3 big heroes, coming to take down one Man? Either you're very weak or I'm very strong. Must be both."

A unfamiliar growl shook from Shadow, in a tone Sair was unfamiliar with but it was dripping with death, "


End file.
